Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday, 20 May chaired a high-level review of the state's School Education and Literacy Department at his official residence in Bengaluru, directing officials to accelerate the rollout of Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) across the state. He announced that the flagship project will be formally launched in Shivamogga on 1 June.

What the Karnataka Public School Project Entails

Each KPS campus will cater to approximately 1,200 students, offering education from LKG through PU (Class 11 and 12) in both Kannada and English medium under a single roof. The government has proposed 800 such schools statewide, with Siddaramaiah directing that all campuses be fully operational within two years.

The Chief Minister also instructed authorities to initiate the tender process at the earliest for establishing these schools during the current academic year, and directed the department to examine the feasibility of providing school bus facilities for KPS students.

Teacher Recruitment and Infrastructure Push

In a significant administrative directive, Siddaramaiah instructed the School Education and Literacy Department to submit a proposal to the Finance Department immediately for the recruitment of 15,000 teachers. The move signals the government's intent to staff the new campuses ahead of their phased opening.

This comes amid a broader push to strengthen public school infrastructure in Karnataka, with the KPS model designed to compete with private institutions by consolidating resources and offering a wider curriculum span on a single campus.

SSLC and PU Results Show Sharp Improvement

Reviewing academic outcomes, Siddaramaiah noted a marked turnaround in examination performance this year. The SSLC (Class 10) pass percentage climbed to 94.10 per cent, an increase of 14.06 percentage points over the previous year. The II PUC (Class 12) pass rate reached 86.48 per cent, up 13.03 percentage points from 2025.

Notably, the number of schools recording 100 per cent results in SSLC examinations surged to 2,393 this year from just 766 last year — a more than threefold rise. The Chief Minister also confirmed that no grace marks were awarded to students this year and that there would be no third and final SSLC examination this year.

Rural Students Outperform Urban Peers

Officials informed the meeting that rural students outpaced their urban counterparts in both SSLC and II PUC examinations. The SSLC pass rate in rural areas stood at 94.80 per cent against 93.20 per cent in urban areas. In II PUC, rural students recorded 87.62 per cent compared to 85.95 per cent in urban areas.

The government also highlighted that results among SC and ST students improved by 18 per cent, with students from various backward class categories also registering considerable gains — a development the administration attributed to targeted interventions.

Measures Behind the Results and What Comes Next

School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa told the meeting that several steps had driven the improvement: statewide meetings with parents and teachers, appointment of guest teachers, curriculum-based learning methods, state-level preparatory examinations, periodic teacher training, and continuous monitoring. He added that special training programmes in the Kalyana Karnataka region contributed significantly to results there.

The government also discussed a proposal to distribute free notebooks alongside free textbooks to schoolchildren. With the KPS launch set for 1 June in Shivamogga, all eyes will be on whether the tender timelines, teacher recruitment, and infrastructure targets can be met within the two-year window Siddaramaiah has set.