Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, today, March 7, presented the state’s 16th budget, outlining an outlay of Rs 4,09,549 crore, surpassing the previous year's Rs 3.71 lakh crore.
When it comes to the education sector, the chief minister has announced several initiatives like a boost in the mid-day meal scheme, the establishment of 500 schools, collaborations and more.
Expansion of public schools
Responding to the positive reception of pre-primary classes in 2,619 government schools, with 90,195 children enrolled, the scheme will be extended to 5,000 schools at a cost of Rs 70 crore, reported PTI.
The Karnataka Public Schools initiative, established during the previous Congress government, will also see expansion. Five hundred new Karnataka Public Schools will be launched with an investment of Rs 2,500 crore.
Additionally, under the Akshara Aavishkara scheme, 50 schools in the Kalyana Karnataka region will be upgraded to Karnataka Public Schools at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
Eggs, Bananas six days a week
To combat malnutrition and improve student attendance, the government will continue providing eggs or bananas six days a week to 53 lakh schoolchildren, allocating Rs 1,500 crore for this initiative, PTI added.
Additionally, the distribution of ragi health powder mixed with hot milk will be extended from three to five days a week, with a total investment of Rs 100 crore.
Furthermore, Rs 46 crore has been earmarked to provide new kitchen utensils and modernise kitchens in 16,347 schools under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
Enhancing learning outcomes
The state government plans to collaborate with private institutions to improve learning outcomes through these programmes:
- Kalika Deepa Program: An Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based initiative in partnership with the Ek-Step Foundation, targeting 2,000 schools to enhance proficiency in Kannada and English languages and foundational mathematics.
- Jnana Setu Program: In collaboration with Khan Academy, this programme aims to teach science and mathematics using innovative methods, benefiting 20 lakh students and 15,000 teachers across 5,000 government schools.
- I-Code Labs: Established in partnership with the Agasthya Foundation, these labs will introduce coding to students in government schools. Sixty-three schools with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities will serve as hubs, impacting 756 schools.
An ambitious three-year programme will also be implemented to ensure students from LKG to second PUC achieve grade-appropriate learning outcomes.
Initiatives like Kalika Chilume (for Classes I to V), Ganita-Ganaka (phone-based math teaching for Classes III to V), Odhu Karnataka (enhancing literacy and numeracy for Classes IV and V), and Marusinchana (boosting learning capacity for Classes VI to X) will be introduced.
To build on the success of the Vidya Vijeta programme, which provided CET/NEET/JEE (Common Entrance Test/Joint Entrance Examination) training to 25,000 government pre-university college students, an additional Rs 5 crore has been allocated for the current financial year.
