Schools in Karnataka opened for the start of the school year on May 16. Even after 50 days of schools reopening, children are going to their classrooms dressed in colorful clothes or old uniforms that barely fit them, and wearing slippers or sandals. Due to the severe shortage of funds from the Department of Education, public school students will be deprived of mandatory shoes, socks and uniforms that echo symbols of school discipline. The School Education and Literacy Department of Karnataka, which is reeling from severe shortage of funds, has yet to release the funds for the purchase of materials for the children, despite the Minister in Chief Basavaraj Bommai, in his first budget for the 2021-22 financial year, increasing the budget allocation to education by 1%.

Just as Karnataka State Police Chief Praveen Sood reiterated last week that “no vehicle shall be stopped merely to check documents unless it has committed a traffic code offence. road visible to the naked eye,” Bengaluru city traffic commissioner Ravikanthe Gowda issued a statement on Wednesday saying that pre-university students (PU) will not be allowed to bring motor vehicles to the college as they do not meet the minimum age criteria (18 years) to obtain the driver’s license, according to Karnataka motor vehicle rules.