Karnataka caste census likely to be extended, school timings altered

BENGALURU: The ongoing Social and Educational Survey—widely referred to as the 'caste census'— that was scheduled to end on Tuesday is likely to be extended, as per the memo issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy. The department has altered the school timings, when it reopens on October 8 after the Dasara holidays to allow teachers to complete the survey work.

The government and aided schools in the Greater Bengaluru area will have classes from 8 am to 1 pm from October 8 to 24. The teachers who are appointed as enumerators will take part and complete the survey work after school hours, during this period.

In the rest of the state, all government and aided schools will have classes from 8 am to 1 pm from October 8 to 12. The memo dated October 6 refers to a letter from the backward classes welfare department stating that more time was needed to complete the survey.

It said, the decision altering the school timing has been taken in the academic interest of the students and to ensure that classes do not suffer due to the survey, after the mid-year vacations.

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Karnataka: Survey for backward classes

The survey, being conducted by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, began on September 22 and was scheduled to conclude on October 7. The survey was delayed in the Greater Bengaluru area at the request of the authorities, for training and necessary preparations.

The survey is currently underway. Formal announcement by the Commission regarding the extension of the survey is expected. Conducted at an estimated cost of Rs 420 crore, the exercise uses a 60-question questionnaire and is being carried out scientifically, officials said. The government had spent Rs 165.51 crore on an earlier Social and Educational Survey in 2015, which was later discarded.