BENGALURU: Writer and academic Baraguru Ramachandrappa has called for a thorough review of the Karnataka Public School (KPS) concept being introduced by the state government, warning that it could create a crisis leading to the closure of neighbouring government schools.

He was speaking after inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Kannada as the Language of Livelihood’ organised by the Department of Kannada Studies at Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University at Central College on Thursday.

He said the government must carefully examine the long-term impact of KPS schools. Referring to the possible closure of government primary schools, he remarked that if schools shut due to government action, it amounts to “murder”, while closure on their own would be equivalent to “suicide”.

Questioning the need for pre-primary and primary sections within KPS institutions, he said accommodating children of vastly different age groups under one roof could create administrative and academic challenges. He urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to immediately look into the issue.

He also demanded that the state government focus on improving the quality of all existing government schools while ensuring effective English teaching from Class 1, as already announced. Ramachandrappa further called for grant-in-aid support to Kannada-medium private schools established after 1995 and advocated a national policy prioritising employment opportunities for locals.

Presiding over the event, Vice-Chancellor Ramesh B stressed the need to modernise Kannada usage to suit the demands of the competitive technological era. Special lectures were delivered by K Y Narayanaswamy, in-charge Vice-Chancellor of Maharani Cluster University, along with senior writers Rajappa Dalavayi and H L Pushpa, who interacted with students during the seminar. N Mukundaraj, president of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy was the chief guest.