Karnataka to upgrade 800 govt. schools to KPS at ₹3,000 crore

To strengthen government schools, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has decided to upgrade 800 government schools into Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) across the State.

KPS are model government-run schools that provide education from pre-primary to II PU under one roof, with both English and Kannada medium options.

“Each school will be developed with necessary infrastructure at an estimated cost of ₹4 crore. We are planning to invest around ₹3,000 crore to develop these schools,” said Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for School Education and Literacy, at a press conference here on Wednesday.

“In the first phase, 500 schools will be upgraded in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In addition, 200 schools will be converted into KPS schools through Kalyan Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB) funds. Similarly, a separate Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared by the Karnataka Mining Environment Restoration Corporation (KMERC) through Comprehensive Environmental Plan for Mining Impacted Zones (CEPMIZ) for the upgradation of 100 KPS schools in 10 taluks. Two to three KPSes in each Assembly constituency and four to five in each taluk of Kalyan Karnataka region will be upgraded,” he added.

“Due to the huge demand for KPS, steps have been taken to increase the number of seats. The number of students in pre-primary classes has been increased from 30 to 40 and the number of students in primary to II PU has been increased from 30 to 50,” Mr. Bangarappa said, adding that permission has been given in increase up to 60 students in schools with good infrastructure.

“There will be bilingual teaching in KPS up to class 5. From class 6, students can choose Kannada or English as the medium of instruction. Students will be provided with computer training from class 1, skill training from class 6. In addition, free transport facilities will be provided to students within a radius of five kilometres from the school,” he explained.

With an aim to develop these schools, a Taluk Education Reform Committee will be constituted headed by local MLAs.

Admission drive

With an aim to attract the students to government schools, the DSEL has decided to start an admission drive campaign for the 2026-27 academic year across the State from November.

Mr. Bangarappa said that government officials across all departments, teachers and elected representatives will participate in this campaign.

Passing marks reduction

The State government will implement the reduced pass percentage for SSLC and II PU exams — from 35 to 33 — from the current academic year. The government had issued a gazette notification in this regard few months ago and called for public opinion.

“Over 701 responses in favour of fixing minimum marks to 33 and only eight responses in favour of 35 marks were received,” said Mr. Bangarappa.

Further, he stated that no decision has been taken regarding reducing marks for the first language subjects in SSLC from the existing 125 to 100. “We need to discuss with the Chief Minister and also get public opinion on reducing of first language subject marks. But we will give clarity about it before the board exams this year,” he added.

The aggregate marks for SSLC will be 206 and for II PU 198. In case if a student scores aggregate, but less than the minimum passing marks in one or two subjects (above 30 and below 33), then such students will be declared as pass.

Moral Science classes

Moral Science education will be implemented in schools from the current academic year, but with digital content for this year, as half the academic year is completed.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will release the contents on November 1 and the same will be uploaded on public domain inviting suggestions to improve the content and the same will be shared with schools,” said Mr. Bangarappa.

From next year Moral Science classes will be conducted in one period per week or once in two weeks.

The contents include: Empathy and Compassion, Respect, Honesty and Integrity, Sustainable living and environmental awareness, civic responsibility, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Emotional Intelligence and Resilience, Scientific Temper and creative imagination, Safety and Gender equality.