Textbooks: Karnataka private schools oppose first-come, first-served rule

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Textbook Society (KTBS) has extended the date for the payment of 25% advance for textbooks for the next academic year until March 31. As many as 5,511 private schools are yet to make the mandatory payment.KTBS has increased the advance payment from 10% to 25% this time, much to the displeasure of the private schools. Several of these schools have refrained from paying the advance till now, saying the increased payment is an extra burden."Around 12,000 schools have already made the payment. Another 5,511 are pending. After the extension of the last date, another 600 schools have paid. It is an ongoing process. Schools can pay until the last date," said a KTBS official.In a circular, KTBS said the schools that made the payment in the first phase will be prioritised in sending the textbooks. The schools that made the payment between March 17 and 31 will be considered in the second phase. "Action will be taken to distribute the textbooks only to the schools that have paid the full amount," said the circular issued last week."We hope to distribute books to all schools by May 31," the KTBS official said.However, private schools are unhappy. "This decision is highly unjust, discriminatory, and violative of the principles of natural justice. The sudden imposition and enforcement of a 25% advance payment rule without transparent communication or stakeholder consultation has resulted in retrospective penalisation of compliant institutions. Delayed supply of textbooks to thousands of schools will directly affect students' academic progress, creating inequality in access to learning resources," said Prabhakar Urs, general secretary, Our Schools, an association of private unaided schools.The association has demanded equal and simultaneous supply of textbooks to all schools that submitted indents within the deadline, instead of prioritising, based on the payment schedule.———BOX:Watermarks make SSLC science paper toughThe SSLC science question paper came as a shocker for the students, not because of the difficulty level, but due to dark watermarks strewn all over the paper."The watermarks are so dark and all over the paper. Some of them are over the numerals, so one cannot even read the numbers properly. The paper was easy, but it was hard to read the questions because of the watermarks. It has been overwhelming and distracting," said a student.The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board has been using watermarks to prevent malpractices.