Overview
- The state has initiated the 2025–26 upgrade of 900 government schools into Karnataka Public Schools and outlined a phased plan to place a KPS in each gram panchayat.
- New orders authorize 700 KPS Magnet Schools over two years with provisions to merge small schools within a 1–5 km radius, drawing protests even as the minister reiterates no closures.
- Currently, 309 KPS serve 272,464 students from pre-primary to pre-university, and the budget previously announced 500 new KPS.
- The government has issued a KPS Standards Manual, targets infrastructure for at least 1,200 students per campus, promises a 14-year schooling continuum, and offers free transport for rural students.
- Guest teachers have been appointed, teacher transfers and rationalisation are set to prioritize KPS vacancies, and Rs 111.88 crore has been released to supply shoes and socks to 44,525 schools.