Karnataka’s school crisis – excuses won’t teach children

 The debate in the Legislative Council over government schools has exposed an uncomfortable truth: Karnataka’s public education system is collapsing. A shortage of 36,000 classrooms, dilapidated buildings that endanger children, and declining enrolment paint a grim picture.

BJP’s C.T. Ravi and other opposition members accused the government of neglect—pointing to schools without teachers, students unable to read or write basic Kannada, and the denial of grants to schools in Kalyana Karnataka. Even ruling party members admitted the situation is dire.

School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa acknowledged the crisis but blamed previous governments, claiming problems cannot be solved overnight. While it is true that successive administrations allowed this decay, the minister’s defence sounded more like excuse-making than accountability. Parents and students cannot wait for endless blame games; they need immediate solutions.

The numbers speak for themselves. In just three years, government schools have lost 4.76 lakh students, while private schools have surged. Families are abandoning the system, convinced that government schools cannot provide safety or quality education. Allegations that the state is quietly encouraging private dominance may be politically loaded, but the exodus of children suggests that trust in public education is collapsing.

Some solutions were suggested, including merging schools with fewer than a dozen children. This may be practical, but closures must not become policy by stealth. For many rural families, the local school is their only lifeline to education.

The government points to reforms—upgrading schools, adding English-medium sections, and adopting thousands of institutions—but these gestures pale against the scale of the crisis. What is required is a rescue mission: large-scale investment, teacher recruitment, and visible commitment to restoring trust.

Karnataka cannot afford to let excuses take the place of action. If government schools continue to fail, the very foundation of equal opportunity will crumble. The future of lakhs of children is at stake.

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