Karnataka to develop 1,000 government schools as public schools with CCSR support

State to expand Karnataka Public Schools with CCSR support, new committees and donor participation over the next two years The Karnataka government has decided to upgrade 1,000 government schools into Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) over the next two years with the support of Community and Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) funds. The move is aimed at strengthening public education by improving school infrastructure and providing better learning facilities across the State. The new KPS schools will be established in Gram Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies and Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) areas where Karnataka Public Schools are not currently available. The government has also permitted companies, institutions and donor organisations contributing to the project to co-brand their organisation’s name along with the school they help establish or support. To ensure smooth implementation, the government has issued detailed guidelines and announced the formation of a Karnataka State CCSR Monitoring Committee, a School Education CCSR Cell, and District and GBA-level CCSR Cells. Also Read: High Court allows BDA to invite applications for Dr Shivaram Karanth Layout The Karnataka State CCSR Monitoring Committee will be headed by the Chief Minister, while the Deputy Chief Minister will serve as the Vice-Chairman. Ministers and senior government officials will be members of the committee. The School Education CCSR Cell will function under the chairmanship of the Departmental Commissioner. At the district level, the District Collector will head the District CCSR Cell, while the GBA Chief Commissioner will lead the GBA CCSR Cell. At present, 325 Karnataka Public Schools are functioning across the State. During the current academic year, the government has already initiated the development of 500 KPS clusters with financial assistance of around ₹2,000 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) is implementing the programme to improve the quality of education in government institutions. Karnataka currently has around 40 lakh students studying in government schools and pre-university colleges from Class 1 to Class 12. Also Read: Supreme Court extends deadline, GBA elections to be held by December 31 Each Karnataka Public School is designed to cater to nearly 1,200 students from around 8 to 15 villages. These schools provide bilingual education in Kannada and English from pre-school to Class 12. Apart from regular academics, students receive computer education, industry-oriented skill education and special coaching for competitive examinations. The government’s long-term objective is to establish at least one Karnataka Public School in every Gram Panchayat across the State. It also plans to provide free school transport facilities so that students from nearby villages can easily access these schools. To achieve this goal, the government has decided to expand partnerships through CCSR contributions and accelerate the development of Karnataka Public Schools. According to the government, more than ₹352 crore in CCSR contributions was utilised across Karnataka during the 2024-25 financial year for various education-related initiatives. These included school infrastructure development, teacher training programmes and digital education support, which have contributed to improving the quality of education in government institutions. With the latest initiative, the State aims to significantly expand access to quality education by combining government efforts with community and corporate participation.

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