Lesson gone wrong: Govt school up for sale

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

The decision of the Karnataka government to sell a publicly-owned 77-year-old school in Chikpet has drawn the ire of civil society groups and political parties.

 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state spokesperson and retired Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) officer K Mathai opposed the move. “Chickpet Government School was built on land given by donors before independence. The decision of the state BJP government to sell this building which is in the heart of the city shows the dark side of their corruption. AAP will put up a massive fight if the government does not abandon its decision to sell off valuable assets for the sake of crores of commission,” Mathai said.

AAP leaders claim that the school was worth Rs 300 crore but was being sold for Rs 50 crore, adding that the building was also home to 141 shops and a bank. All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) termed the move anti-student.

 “To serve the interests of a few private companies, the Karnataka State government is out to sell the 77-year-old government school. This school was built with donations from many well-meaning people. For the past few years, the government has given it on lease to a private firm. Now, with the end of the contractor, the private company has requested the government to sell it. This government's move to sell it to a private firm shows its anti-student and anti-education attitude, which is highly condemnable,” AIDSO District office secretary Kishor said.

“Even though the ruling party has embarked on the adventure of selling a 10,000 square feet government school costing hundreds of crores as a continuation of their 40 percent commission corruption, the main opposition party, Congress is not opposing this. It is the duty of the MLA to protect government property, and the silence of local Congress MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao has led to many doubts. People need to know what his role was in the sale of the school building?” Mathai questioned