Teachers Swap Chalk for Clipboards as Karnataka Extends Caste Survey

In a dramatic twist that's sending shockwaves through Karnataka's education system and political corridors, the much-hyped 'caste census' – officially the Social and Educational Survey – is on the verge of a major extension, just hours before its Tuesday deadline. The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC), spearheading this Rs 420 crore mega-exercise, has scrambled to buy more time as enumerators battle slow progress, pesky technical glitches, and widespread confusion across the state's 2 crore households.

The survey, which kicked off on September 22 with grand promises of reshaping social justice policies, was meant to wrap up today. But with only 63-80% completion reported – depending on who's talking – Home Minister G Parameshwara dropped the hint yesterday that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would make the final call after a high-stakes review meeting this evening. "We've covered 1.10 crore households so far, but some districts are lagging badly," Parameshwara told reporters in Koppal, brushing aside criticisms from within his own cabinet. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has already voiced unease over "certain questions" in the 60-point questionnaire, calling them potentially divisive, while Union Minister V Somanna slammed the whole thing as "unscientific" and riddled with "technical errors."

The Department of School Education and Literacy fired off a memo late Monday, tweaking school hours post-Dasara holidays. In the buzzing Greater Bengaluru area – home to five city corporations where the survey started a tad late due to frantic training sessions – government and aided schools will now run a clipped 8 am to 1 pm schedule from October 8 to 24. Teachers doubling as enumerators get the afternoons free to chase down data, ensuring no family slips through the cracks. The rest of the state? A shorter breather: classes from 8 am to 1 pm just until October 12, before snapping back to normal.

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Officials insist this juggling act is all in the "academic interest of students," so the mid-year Dasara break doesn't morph into a full-blown learning blackout. "We're not letting the survey derail education – that's priority one," said a senior education department source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But whispers in the corridors suggest the real headache is the survey's ambitious scope: probing everything from caste identities and income brackets to educational levels and asset ownership across seven crore residents.

In Bengaluru's urban maze, where the pilot rollout hit snags from the get-go, authorities begged for – and got – a grace period for prep work. Now, with the clock ticking louder than ever, a formal extension announcement from the Commission could drop any moment, potentially pushing the finish line into late October.

This isn't Karnataka's first rodeo with a caste census flop. Flashback to 2015: the Siddaramaiah government back then splurged Rs 165.51 crore on a similar Socio-Economic and Educational Survey, only for the results to gather dust in some forgotten file cabinet. Critics, including BJP state president BY Vijayendra, are piling on, accusing the Congress of "creating confusion" when even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national census is set to include caste data. "Why the drama in Karnataka when the Centre's already on board?" Vijayendra fumed, urging a boycott and labeling the effort a political gimmick ahead of the 2026 budget.

Proponents, however, paint a rosier picture. The survey's "scientific" approach – leveraging digital tools and trained enumerators – is touted as a game-changer for equitable reservations and welfare schemes. "No community will be left behind; this is about real data for real justice," CM Siddaramaiah reiterated last week, quashing rumors that the questionnaire "targets" any specific caste. Yet, as opposition voices from the BJP and even internal Congress murmurs grow, the extension feels less like a minor delay and more like a high-wire act.

Will it deliver the promised equity, or just another expensive echo of 2015's bust? As teachers trade chalk for clipboards and parents eye those shortened school days with a mix of relief and resentment, all eyes are on Siddaramaiah's evening verdict. One thing's clear: in Karnataka's caste calculus, time – and trust – is running thin.

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