The Karnataka government will link 2,000 government schools with private schools and corporate partners to improve education quality, with the first phase covering 1,000 schools, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said at a meeting on Wednesday.
Shivakumar launched the ‘Namma Shale Namma Javabdari’ programme at a meeting of corporate social responsibility representatives held at Vidhana Soudha. He said the initiative was intended to ensure that children in rural areas receive better-quality education without having to move to cities.
The government has divided 6,000 gram panchayats into three categories for the programme. In the first phase, 1,000 government schools will be linked with private schools. The wider plan is to cover 2,000 government schools, according to the chief minister’s statement reported by Prajavani.
Under the proposed arrangement, private schools will be allowed to select government schools based on their convenience and capacity. A private school can adopt up to three government schools. The government will assess the financial position of the participating institutions while deciding the nature of support.
The assistance will not be limited to construction, Shivakumar said. Private partners may send qualified teachers to government schools and bear their salaries. They may also provide bus services, laboratories and computers. Private schools that develop government schools may be permitted to associate their names with those institutions. Shivakumar cited a school near the Tamil Nadu border that has been allowed to use the name ‘Hegganur Government Toyota School’ after support from Toyota.
The chief minister said Karnataka had framed a new policy for corporate social responsibility funding. He stated that ₹8,800 crore in annual CSR funds was available, but that some companies registered in Karnataka were spending their funds in other states. He said the issue would also be discussed with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The announcement places private participation alongside existing public spending on school infrastructure and staffing. Shivakumar said the state had borrowed ₹2,000 crore from the World Bank for Karnataka Public Schools. He also said government teachers were receiving salaries of up to ₹1.5 lakh, but that education quality had not improved sufficiently.
School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said Karnataka’s public education system serves 1.12 crore students and provides free education. He said the government was taking measures focused on learning ability, confidence, personality development and future opportunities.
Teacher shortages remain part of the government’s stated implementation challenge. Bangarappa said steps were being taken to recruit 18,000 teachers before the next academic year. The state has also appointed 43,553 guest teachers, he said.
Bangarappa added that government efforts alone would not be sufficient to strengthen public education. He called for participation from private education institutions, businesses, companies, voluntary organisations and CSR partners. The programme’s next phase will depend on the selection of participating schools and the support that private partners commit to providing.
