The Karnataka government plans to build 1,352 Karnataka Public Schools at an estimated cost of ₹4,500 crore, with foundation-laying ceremonies for the development works expected to begin soon, School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said at an event in Vijayapura district on Saturday.
The proposed schools are intended to provide 14 years of education, from lower kindergarten to pre-university, on a single campus. The plan is designed to bring multiple stages of schooling together within public education infrastructure and expand access to facilities that are not uniformly available across government schools.
According to the minister, computer education will be introduced from Class 1, while artificial intelligence will be introduced from Class 3. Students will receive skill-development training from Class 6, and the government also plans to provide free bus services for students attending the schools.
Bangarappa made the announcement while inaugurating the Children’s Science Fair at the A.B. Jatti School campus in Tikota. The event was organised jointly by the School Education Department, the BLDE organisation and the Agastya Foundation. The minister said the Karnataka Public Schools would be developed as institutions offering education from the early years through the pre-university level.
The announcement places transport, digital learning, science facilities and skills training within the same school-development framework. The minister said the schools would include well-equipped science laboratories. The source report did not provide a district-wise distribution of the 1,352 schools, construction-wise timelines, details of the sites or the funding allocation for individual campuses.
The government also cited its nutrition programme for students in government schools. Bangarappa said about 45 lakh children receive midday meals, along with eggs. Children who do not eat eggs are provided bananas, he said. The programme has an estimated cost of ₹1,991 crore, with support from the Azim Premji Foundation.
The Children’s Science Fair, which is intended to encourage scientific thinking among rural children, will be expanded across Karnataka in phases, the minister said. The event at Tikota brought together officials from the education department, local representatives and partner organisations involved in school and child-development initiatives.
Vijayapura district in-charge minister M.B. Patil said priority had been given to the comprehensive development of government schools in the Babaleshwar Assembly constituency so that children of poor farmers and wage workers could access quality education. He said corporate social responsibility funds and donor support were being mobilised for school development.
Patil also said anganwadi centres were being provided with toys and play equipment to create an environment supportive of children’s learning and development. The stated objective is to build interest in learning from early childhood, alongside improvements to school infrastructure.
The government’s next stated step is to begin foundation-laying ceremonies for the Karnataka Public School development works. Further details on the locations, construction schedule and phased rollout were not included in the announcement.
