Teachers of unaided schools from different districts staged a hunger protest to demand grant-in-aid in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Shivamogga, the native place of Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for School Education.
The teachers began their dharna on Wednesday (November 19), and withdrew the protest on Thursday evening (November 20) after elected representatives promised that they would raise the issue in the coming legislature session.
The protesters said they had been demanding that the State government sanction grant-in-aid for private Kannada medium schools which were started between 1995 and 2005. They had been working in the institutes for meagre salaries for several years, they pointed out. During the protest, a couple of teachers fell ill, and they were shifted to McGann Hospital for treatment.
Roopa, a teacher from Gadag district, said she and many teachers from different parts of the State had taken part in the protest. “We have decided to continue our protest until the government fulfils our demand. We are also ready to sacrifice our lives for our demand,” she stated.
The teachers stated that they resorted to a hunger protest as the government had not responded to their repeated pleas. The Minister for School Education did not bother to respond to the protest, they alleged.
Shivamogga MLA S.N. Channabasappa and MLC Dr. Dhananjay Sarji met the protesters and assured that they would raise the issue in the session to be held in Belagavi. Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde told the protesters he had informed the Minister about their pleas. Following assurances from elected representatives, the teachers withdrew the protest.
Published – November 20, 2025 07:03 pm IST
