Daijiworld Media Network – Belagavi
Belagavi, Dec 15: Karnataka’s government schools are facing a severe crisis, with declining enrolment and poor infrastructure leaving thousands of children without access to quality education, according to recent disclosures in the Legislative Council.
School education and literacy minister Madhu Bangarappa revealed that a total of 188 schools across the State—including 160 lower primary, 29 higher primary, and three high schools—recorded zero enrolment this year.
Tumakuru educational district tops the list with 45 such schools, followed by Kalaburagi (21), Kolar (20), Koppal (18), Bidar (17), and Chitradurga (12). Among high schools, one each in Bengaluru South, Hassan, and Koppal districts has no students enrolled.
The government also highlighted a critical shortage of teachers, reporting that 6,675 schools have only one teacher. Hassan leads with 586 such schools, followed by Tumakuru (426), Kolar (347), Mandya (338), Chikkaballapur (334), Bengaluru South (298), and Mysuru (294).
Development educationist Niranjanaradhya V P said, “The growing number of zero-enrolment schools is not due to lack of interest among parents. It stems from the dereliction of duty by the Department of Education in implementing the fundamental right to education. Minimum infrastructure facilities under the RTE Act are often not provided. With RTE compliance at just 23.6% and 62,650 teacher vacancies out of 2,37,115 sanctioned posts, poor parents cannot be expected to send their children to government schools.”
Infrastructure deficiencies are equally alarming. Minister Bangarappa disclosed that 170 schools lack toilets, and 61 schools have no drinking water facility. In addition, 701 schools do not have separate toilets for girls, and 2,039 schools lack separate toilets for boys, forcing all students to share common facilities. The absence of separate toilets particularly affects girl students’ safety and attendance.
A headmaster from a higher primary school in Laggere, Bengaluru, said, “Ours is a school of 307 students, including 152 girls. There is no separate toilet for girls. With only five toilets serving all students, girls are especially affected. Despite repeated requests to authorities and NGOs for additional facilities, nothing has been implemented yet.”
Children With Special Needs (CwSN) are also severely affected. As many as 39,478 government schools lack CwSN-friendly toilets, and teachers are not trained to educate these students.
Child rights activist Nagasimha Rao said, “The government misunderstands the needs of persons with disabilities. There are 21 categories of PwD, and schools must provide facilities and trained staff to ensure inclusive education.”
According to the minister, Karnataka has 46,460 government schools serving 40,74,525 students for 2025-26. Some progress has been made: over the past three years, 9,878 classrooms have been repaired and 7,650 toilets constructed. For the current year, the government has allocated Rs 360 crore for classroom construction, Rs 100 crore for repairs, and Rs 90 crore for toilets, and the action plan approval process is underway.
The reports underscore the urgent need for teacher recruitment and infrastructure development, including separate toilets for girls and CwSN-friendly facilities. Without immediate action, the combination of zero enrolment and inadequate facilities threatens the right to education for thousands of children across Karnataka.