AIDSO members in Belagavi staged a protest against what they allege is the State government’s plan to shut government schools under the guise of merging them to establish Karnataka Public Schools (KPS).
The protestors marched from Rani Channamma Circle to the Deputy Commissioner’s office, shouting slogans against the government and submitting a petition through the DC’s office.
They claimed the Congress government is preparing to close nearly 40,000 schools in the name of creating KPS Magnet Schools, warning that such a move would jeopardise the future of students from poor families. “We oppose this decision and will continue our agitation until the government withdraws it,” they said.
AIDSO district convener Mahantesh Bilur alleged that international funding agencies were influencing the State government to take “anti-people decisions.”
He pointed out that Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, during a recent press briefing, acknowledged that the government had borrowed ₹2,500 crore from the Asian Development Bank for the KPS project and planned to seek an additional ₹10,000 crore if the pilot phase proved successful. “This clearly shows the government is shutting schools to safeguard corporate interests,” he said.
According to him, the Minister has announced that each gram panchayat will have a KPS Magnet School covering Classes 1 to 12, which would result in merging nearby schools. In the first phase, around 700 magnet schools are being identified, leading to the closure of numerous rural schools. He cited Honganur Government School in Channapatna taluk as an example, saying a Government Order had already been issued to merge seven schools within a 6-km radius.
He said 47 KPS Magnet Schools have been listed in Belagavi district, including Sardar High School, Urdu High School in Khanjargalli and Kanabaragi Higher Primary School, and added that hundreds of surrounding schools face closure, which he termed “unacceptable.”
Bilur recalled that at the start of the academic year, the government proposed shutting over 6,800 schools under the ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, which ADISO and students opposed by organising a 50-lakh-signature campaign, after which the Minister assured that no government school would be closed. “Now, the same government is preparing to close more than 40,000 schools for KPS Magnet Schools. Work has already begun in Channapatna. This is a betrayal of public trust,” he said.
He clarified that while AIDSO is not against Karnataka Public Schools, it strongly rejects the merging of multiple schools into a single magnet school. He said such closures go against the ideals of reformers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, and revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Student leaders Sanju, Lakshmi, Muskan, Chahat, Savitri and Malashree also took part in the protest.
