Raichur: More than a month after schools reopened, over 10,000 Kannada medium primary and high school students in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana border areas are still left without Kannada medium textbooks of all subjects. As many as 16 primary and 17 high schools of the 17 villages are waiting for books.Locals of the 14 Seemandhra and Telangana-border villages, told TOI that their wards have been waiting for Kannada books. “Karnataka govt has neglected us for decades, and this is another instance. The govt supplies Kannada textbooks across the state but could not send them to our villages,” they rued.Activist Basavaraj Kalasa noted that though Krishna Mandal, Maganur, Kunsagi, Hindupur, Gulyam, Holagund, Hasanal, Badinehal, Kuntnal, Sulekere, Bapur, Doddahariwan, Nadichagi, Roudur, Adoni, Koutalam, Halaharavi, and other villages are located in neighboring state, they have maximum population of Kannada speaking children joining Kannada medium school for over a century. “They are suffering due to lack of response from the state govt. This trend is pushing students to Telugu and English medium schools. If they send their wards to Raichur taluks, they get denied seats in hostels, saying they are not residents of Karnataka,” he pointed out.Many teachers of the border schools are making arrangements for 7-8 students to share a single book. “We are collecting old textbooks from former students to bridge the shortage. We have sent our indent to the Karnataka school education department in May itself, but have not received any of the books,” they asserted.Vijaya, Hanumanta, Vivek, Chidanand, Timmappa, students of Adoni Mandal, said that they are struggling to study without books. “In the evening we are wandering to our friends’ houses to obtain a book. If it’s most needed, we are taking xerox copies of the lesson. However, we can not copy the whole book.”Tayappa B Hosur, honorary secretary, Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Raichur district, and Bhagatraj Nijamkari, nominated member, Karnataka Border Area Development Authority (KBADA), said that they will bring it to the govt’ notice through KBADA chairman.Mallikarjun G, deputy director of school education, Raichur, said that he had forwarded indent of textbooks to the govt. “We are receiving books in phases and delivering to them to schools located in the neighboring states,” he added.
