AIDSO members protested in Belagavi on Monday against the state government’s plans to start Karnataka magnet public schools, saying the government was closing down rural schools in the name of merger.
Protesters Dharwadd Naka on Temple-Bekaraalural Higvai Highway Wessna for Suvandha.
They raised slogans against the state government and expressed fear that nearly 40,000 government schools in rural areas would face closure during the exercise.
AIDSO state vice-president Abhaya Diwakar said Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa has been repeatedly making false claims about the scheme.
“The minister said that no government school will be closed. But that is far from the truth. The education department officials are already closing rural schools in Yadgir, Channapatna, Chitradurga, Chikkaballapur and other districts. It is estimated that 2,000 schools are likely to be closed in Belagavi district. This is condemnable,” she said.
Meanwhile, AIDSO’s Subhash Bettadakoppa said the state government is welcome to set up Karnataka Public Schools as an alternative model and not by merging rural schools.
The state government is not concerned about declining income in government schools, problems like teacher vacancies, lack of infrastructure and poor quality of education in public schools, he said.
Studies have shown that most dropouts come from disadvantaged communities, especially girls from disadvantaged and minority communities.
The state government has claimed that the main attraction of Karnataka government schools is teaching in English. However, it did not make proper preparations for the training of teachers in teaching in English. The state government has not shown enthusiasm in filling more than 60,000 vacancies in government schools, he said.
Leaders Rajashekar S., Mahantesh Bilur, Arun, Eeranna, Vaibhav and other activists were present.
Published – 15 Dec 2025 19:43 IST
