Minister of Women and Child Development, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, expressed her concern about Karnataka ranking second in the country for child marriage cases during a press conference in Mangalore on Saturday. She emphasized that child marriage is a matter of shame for the entire community and called for collective action at the local level involving gram panchayats, SDMCs of primary schools, legal and health departments, and the police.
Hebbalkar highlighted that Ballari district holds the first position, while Belagavi district ranks second in the state for child marriage cases, attributing these incidents to superstitions and unclear reasons. Despite strict measures and the immediate filing of FIRs upon awareness of such cases, child marriages persist, resulting in young girls becoming pregnant.
She stressed the need for more robust efforts at the grassroots level to eradicate this practice and mentioned that officials have been directed to intensify their efforts.
Hebbalkar also announced the initiative to convert Anganwadis into Montessori schools. Karnataka has approximately 70,000 Anganwadis, and in the first phase, 20,000 will be transformed into government Montessori schools. Qualified teachers will be identified from the 15,000 Anganwadi workers who have completed their graduation and the 2,000 who have completed postgraduate degrees. These teachers will receive training to become government Montessori teachers. With support from both the central and state governments, smart classrooms will be established, offering education in both Kannada and English.