The All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) organised a protest rally and convention in Ballari on Friday opposing the State government’s KPS ‘Magnet’ schools scheme, alleging that it would lead to the closure of thousands of government schools and deprive poor children of education.
The rally, which began at Gandhi Bhavan, passed through Ediga Complex and Royal Circle before returning to Gandhi Bhavan for a public meeting. Parents, students, civil society members, and leaders of the Public Education Protection Committee participated, raising slogans against the government.
Addressing the gathering, AIDSO State treasurer Subhash Bettadakoppa alleged that the KPS Magnet scheme would “kill nearly 40,000 government schools” and push thousands of children out of the education system. He said the government had directed Magnet schools to manage their own administration and finances, while placing the burden of transport on parents.
Drawing parallels with Gujarat, he claimed that large-scale school mergers there had resulted in nearly 2.5 lakh poor children dropping out of school. He criticised remarks attributed to Education Department authorities on imparting manual labour skills to students from Class 6 onwards, alleging that the policy was aimed at denying quality education to children of workers and farmers.
Dr. Govardhan Reddy, former Karnataka Medical Association State secretary and senior urologist, said every village must have a government school and that the real issues were a shortage of teachers and a lack of basic infrastructure. “Instead of fixing these problems, the government is offering KPS Magnet schools as an alternative, which amounts to shirking its constitutional responsibility. Just as health schemes led to the privatisation of healthcare, this policy will privatise education and exclude poor children,” he warned.
AIDSO State vice-president Apoorva C.M. cited official data to highlight that nearly 60,000 teacher posts were vacant in Karnataka, over 21,000 school buildings were in dilapidated condition, and thousands of schools lacked basic facilities, including toilets for teachers. “The KPS Magnet scheme does not address any of these issues. On education, Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin,” he alleged, calling for a united struggle beyond caste and religious divisions to protect public education.
Retired teacher Uppar Narasanna, activist K. Somashekar Gowda, Kambali Manjunath, K. Eeranna, and other leaders participated in the agitation. The participants resolved to continue the agitation until the government officially withdraws the KPS Magnet scheme, declaring that the movement would be expanded to every corner of the district in defence of public education.
Published – January 10, 2026 09:06 pm IST
