Shivamogga, the district entrusted by School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, has the highest number of pending registration of government school properties with 1,192 schools. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
Although the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has been running the ‘Government Schools and Educational Institutions Property Protection Campaign’ for the last three years to protect the property of government schools, it has been found that 18,791 government schools across the state have no land records.
The government has now taken steps to introduce “The Karnataka School Education Department Properties Protection Bill 2025 or The Karnataka Protection of Government School/Colleges Properties Bill” to register government school properties in the name of DSEL.
Responding to a question raised by expelled BJP member Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal at a recent meeting, Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the properties of 17,356 government primary schools and 1,435 high schools across the state were not registered in the name of the department and they did not have income proofs. “Therefore, a proposal for the enactment of a separate law related to the registration of these properties is being discussed,” he said.
Currently, there are 48,436 government schools in the state, including 43,564 primary and 4,872 secondary schools. Most of these schools have been allotted land by the government, while many donors have donated land and plots to many schools.
However, of these, a total of 18,791 government school lands and campuses were not registered in the name of DSEL and have no other revenue records, including khata statements. As a result, many school lands were encroached upon and cases were also registered in court. In addition, it is also difficult to carry out school development work, including construction of buildings, without the necessary documents.
DSEL organizes every year from 2022-23 a government campaign to protect the property of schools and educational institutions.
The Deputy Commissioners were directed to collect the land books of the respective government schools and register them in the name of the school and if they encroached on the said lands, they should have the lands surveyed by the competent authority and the encroachment removed.
Only 28,776 schools have records
However, only 25,339 primary and 3,437 secondary schools are registered under DSEL.
Shivamogga, the mandated district of School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, has the highest number of properties pending registration of government schools, with 1,192 schools, followed by 1,124 in mandya, 1,063 schools in beating, in calculation, and 877 in Bengaruru South (formerly Ramanagara) district.
Umesh G. Gangavadi, State President, School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC), said, “Most of the properties of government schools have been disturbed due to the negligence of previous governments. Many cases are pending in court. There was an incident in Kolar a few years ago where some private persons seized a government school and demolished it on the orders of the court. It is difficult to do any development records in such schools. If there are no records in such schools, he should complete the ongoing registration of the property. government schools on a war footing In this regard a request will be made to the Chief Minister.’
Published – 10 February 2026 07:00 IST
