Residents of Hanumanala in Dharwad taluk staged a protest in front of their village school against the closure of government schools under the KPS Magnet School scheme, on February 16, 2026.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Residents of Hanumanala in Dharwad taluk, of Karnataka, staged a protest in front of their village school on February 16 against the closure of government schools under the KPS Magnet School scheme.
Addressing the protestors, All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) district unit Secretary Shashikala Meti said that the government of Karnataka is planning to close more than 40,000 government schools under the KPS Magnet Scheme.
As a part of this project, the Government Higher Primary Urdu Model School at Uppina Betageri would be converted into a magnet school, and the Hanumanal school would be closed. The government was doing injustice to the children of poor farmers and labourers by closing the school with an enrolment of 99, she said.
Uppina Betageri Government Higher Primary School, Government Higher Primary Girls’ School Uppina Betageri, Government Higher Primary School Hanumanakoppa, Government Lower Primary Urdu School Jalegar Oni Uppina Betageri, Government Lower Primary School Hanumanal, Government Lower Primary School Saibana Koppa, and Government Higher Primary School Kallur would be closed, and seven schools had been included in the magnet school in Hubballi, and over 500 schools were being closed in Dharwad district, she claimed.
Basaiah Dubbanamaradi, president of the village’s public education campaign committee, said that the government should provide facilities and develop schools in rural areas where poor children could study.
He said that if the Hanumanala school was closed, then they would not send their children to Uppina Betageri because of the lack of a proper bus service. He warned of an agitation if the government goes ahead with closing the school.
Published – February 18, 2026 10:50 am IST
