In a new development, soon after the Karnataka education minister announced that the 8,000 schools built under project Viveka, named after Swami Vivekananda, will be painted in saffron colour, a row has erupted.
The announcement was made on Sunday in Kalaburagi district. The minister was speaking at the centenary celebrations of the ‘Vidya Dana Samiti Education Society in Gadag. “Viveka new classrooms will be in saffron colour, not because of the ideology it denotes, but because the architects suggested it,” he said.
The decision has not gone down well with various educationalists. Speaking to The Hindu, Development Educationalist Dr Niranjannaradhya V P asked why is there a need to give a religion intake for secular institutions.
“What we need is child-friendly and learning-enabling classrooms. The nature of the minister is to do things as per whims and fancies guided by the political ideology he represents. This is clearly politicisation, communalisation and a new form of saffronisation of education. This is against the core values of the Constitution that emphasises the secular fabric of social institutions including public schools,” he said.
Meanwhile, defending the decision, the education minister, while speaking to reporters said that the decision is not up to the state government but to architects involved in the project. “If the architect suggests saffron, we will go ahead with it,” he said.
“Some people look for opportunities to politicise everything. They seem to be allergic to the colour saffron,” the education minister added.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai added, “The saffron colour is present in the national flag. The classrooms are being built in the name of Swami Vivekananda. He was a saint and he was draped in saffron colour. ‘Viveka’ means knowledge, let them (Congress) have it.”
Viveka classroom scheme
Under this scheme, the old and those not functional will be replaced by new ones called the Viveka classrooms. These classrooms will be constructed in Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) or Adarsha Schools and others where there is a requirement.
Around Rs 992 crore has been sanctioned for the implementation of the welfare scheme. According to the state government, 7,000 classrooms will be constructed using state funds. The remaining 1,000 classrooms will be built by Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) fund.
(With inputs from IANS)
