'Shoddy survey burning public money': Yaduveer Wadiyar reacts to Karnataka school holidays over socio-economic survey

Karnataka Congress extends Dasara vacations, leaving government school students out of class for nearly a month.

Criticizing the Karnataka government’s ongoing socio-economic survey, Mysuru royal scion and BJP leader Yaduveer Wadiyar called the exercise “shoddy” and accused it of burning public money.

Yaduveer highlighted that the extension of Dasara holidays for government schools has left students without classes for nearly a month.

He highlighted that the extension of Dasara holidays for government schools has left students without classes for nearly a month, while students in private institutions continue to attend school, putting lakhs of government school students at a disadvantage.

“It was clear even before the survey began that 7 crore people across 2 crore households can’t be covered in just 15 days. Now, the Karnataka Congress Government has extended Dasara vacations for government schools, which will open only after Deepavali. This move keeps government school students away from classrooms for almost a month, while other schools function normally - putting lakhs of students in a clear disadvantage. This entire exercise could have been done systematically during the summer break - without disrupting education, without confusion. But instead, this shoddily planned survey is burning public money just to please egos and serve vested interests,” Wadiyar wrote on X, questioning the planning and execution of the survey, which he claimed appears to serve vested interests rather than public welfare.

The statewide survey, which began on September 22, aims to collect data on the social, educational, and economic conditions of 7 crore people across 2 crore households. Originally scheduled to conclude on October 7, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Tuesday that government schools will remain closed from October 8 to October 18 to allow teachers involved in the survey to complete their work.

“From September 22, we began a statewide survey to understand the social, educational, and economic conditions of the people. Today marks the final day of the survey as per the original schedule. However, in some districts, the survey work is still incomplete. In Koppal, 97% of the work is done,” Siddaramaiah said at a press conference.

(With agency inputs)