Mangaluru: The Karnataka State Pre-university College Principals’ Association and the Karnataka State Pre-university College Lecturers’ Association, Dakshina Kannada District Unit, representing the lecturers of govt and aided pre-university colleges, have strongly condemned the govt’s decision to assign PU college lecturers to high school classes, classes 9 and 10.The govt has amended the Karnataka General Services (Pre-University Education) (Recruitment) Rules-2013, issued a draft notification, and has given seven days for filing objections.Addressing the press, Vittala A, joint secretary of Karnataka State Pre-university College Lecturers’ Association, said the draft amendment, which mandates newly appointed and promoted PU lecturers to teach classes 9 to 12, has been issued without proper consultation.He stressed that at a time when the State Education Policy (SEP) is in the implementation stage, there is no urgency to introduce such changes without understanding the psychological and academic differences between high school and PU students, and argued that any reform must be preceded by the formation of a joint committee comprising education experts and teaching staff to examine practical challenges.Highlighting academic concerns, he pointed out that a single teacher would be forced to prepare students for both SSLC and II PUC public examinations, despite differences in teaching methodology. This, they said, would compromise the quality of education and fail to do justice to students at both levels.He further said that lecturers promoted from high schools through departmental examinations are meant to handle higher-level teaching. Assigning them back to 9th and 10th standards would undermine the purpose of promotion.In a release, the association said that the reforms should prioritise improving educational quality rather than merely balancing staff workload. It emphasised that education must remain student-centric and warned that hasty implementation of such proposals could weaken the PU system’s distinct identity in Karnataka.The association also pointed out that applying such rules only to select govt institutions, without ensuring uniformity across aided and private institutions, would go against a consistent education framework. It further expressed concern over possible deputation of lecturers to multiple colleges in a week, warning that this could disrupt academic continuity and affect student learning outcomes.It also stated that the govt should not make a hasty decision on the implementation of the proposal, but rather only after receiving a pros and cons report from the expert committee, also adding that otherwise the principals and lecturers of PU colleges in Karnataka will declare a protest against this proposed amendment.
