Left Student Organisations Oppose Karnataka's 'KPS Magnet' Scheme, Cite Threat to Public Education
The outfits claimed the circular issued by the government means the merger of schools is not meant for quality but closure by just another name.
Published : January 21, 2026 at 5:26 PM IST
Bengaluru: Left-wing student organisations on Tuesday released a copy of a government order that they claimed will lead to the closure of more than 40,000 government schools across Karnataka under the proposed 'KPS Magnet' scheme.
The order was made public at a press conference held at the Press Club here by the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Karnataka Vidyarthi Sangha (KVS).
According to the organisations, the state government plans to merge several existing village schools and replace them with about 6,000 KPS Magnet schools, with one school per gram panchayat. In the first phase, orders have already been issued to set up 900 Magnet schools. The circular states that schools located within a radius of one to five kilometres will be merged into these centres.
Veena Nayak, State President of AISF, said the order effectively means shutting down of functioning village schools. “Schools with enrolments of 50, 70, 80 and even 100 students are being merged, as seen in Honganur in Channapatna. This is not consolidation for quality, but closure by just another name,” she said.
The student bodies pointed out that the circular places the responsibility of transporting children to the Magnet schools on School Development and Monitoring Committees, which largely consist of parents. “This shifts the financial burden on families who are already struggling,” said Vijay Kumar TS, State Secretary of SFI.
They also raised concerns over provisions suggesting outsourcing of school operations and a push for schools to generate their own income. Subhash Bettadakoppa of AIDSO said seeking corporate donations for Magnet schools “opens the door to gradual privatisation of public education.”
The groups questioned the funding pattern for the scheme. They alleged that Rs 2,500 crore has been borrowed from the Asian Development Bank, while Rs 700 crore has been drawn from the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board and mining rehabilitation funds. They also claimed that Rs 100 crore from minority welfare funds has been diverted. “Money meant for the welfare of backward and affected communities is being used to shut the schools their children attend,” Bettadakoppa said.
The organisations argued that the scheme ignores existing problems in government schools. They cited 59,000 vacant teacher posts, 21,000 schools needing repairs and about 7,000 schools functioning with a single teacher. “Instead of filling vacancies and improving infrastructure, the government is choosing to merge and close schools,” said Sushant of AISA.
They also criticised the proposed curriculum in KPS Magnet schools, where vocational education is to be made compulsory from Class VI. Durgesh, State Secretary of KVS, said, “Teaching skills linked to specific industries risks reducing education to cheap labour training for poor children, rather than building knowledge and critical thinking.”
Student leaders said protests by parents and villagers have already taken place across the state. Despite this, they alleged that the government is pressing ahead. The organisations demanded that the KPS Magnet project be withdrawn and called on the government to focus on strengthening existing government schools with teachers, facilities and neighbourhood access to education.
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