Bangalore : Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar has said that giving government-aided schools all facilities and extending pension and salaries to teachers on a par with government schools would be difficult, given the huge financial implication.

Replying to two separate queries raised by BJP MLCs Kota Srinivas Poojary and Arun Shahapur in the Legislative Council on Friday, Mr. Ratnakar said though the allocation to the Education Department was about Rs.16,500 crore this year, about Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 12,000 crore is spent on teachers’ salaries alone.

He said Central funding to the tune of Rs. 800 crore had not been received because of audit objections. “Our priority is to strengthen government schools,” said the Minister.

Mr. Poojary argued that 7,14,033 students in 2,907 aided schools would benefit if they are given facilities on a par with government-run schools at least on some counts. “At least provide them uniforms, take them on educational excursions and provide enough teachers, if not provide infrastructure like in government schools. This will not mean too much economic burden,” said Mr. Poojary. The Minister promised to look into the issue.

Mr. Shahapur said that teachers in aided school were treated as “second-rate citizens” and lacked all facilities. He said they should be included under the New Pension Scheme.

There were instances of teachers waiting for years to get salaries with aid from the government, he said. The Minister said school managements should be held accountable for recruiting teachers promising salaries when they were not aided.