300 parents protest in HD Kote against KPS school merger plan

Mysuru: Strong opposition is mounting in HD Kote and Saragur against the Karnataka govt’s move to merge govt schools under the KPS Magnet scheme, with over 300 parents, students and villagers taking part in a protest in front of the HD Kote taluk office.The convention was organised on Tuesday under the leadership of the AIDSO student organisation and the Save Public Education Committee, which accused the state govt of pushing ahead with the closure of more than 40 govt schools in the two taluks.Addressing the gathering, AIDSO state vice-president Apoorva alleged that the govt orders issued on Oct 15 and Dec 30, 2025, were aimed at implementing a policy of one govt school per gram panchayat. She claimed that under this policy, only 6,000 schools would remain across the state while nearly 40,000 govt schools would disappear.She said the KPS Magnet scheme was effectively a plan to shut down all other govt schools located within a 5-km radius of KPS schools. Apoorva also criticised the govt’s proposed skill-based education measures, alleging that introducing activities such as making clay lamps and peeling arecanuts from Class 6 was an attempt to keep children of labourers confined to labour.She further charged that the govt was merging schools in the name of reform while also extending similar measures to PU colleges under the PM SHRI scheme.Apoorva also objected to the introduction of English medium from Class 1 in all govt primary schools, claiming that the move would eventually lead to the closure of Kannada-medium schools. She cited resistance in Arsikere taluk of Hassan district, where villagers opposed a list of schools marked for merger.She also alleged that in Padarahalli KPS Magnet School in Channapatna, signatures were obtained from parents of nearby villages on indemnity bonds under the pretext of securing consent to send their children to the magnet school.Highlighting local concerns, Apoorva said HD Kote and Saragur were economically and educationally backward regions where many families already lacked basic facilities. She said the threat of wild animals and existing hardships already pushed many children out of school and into labour, and warned that closure of village schools would further deprive poor children of education.Karnataka State Farmers’ Organisation HD Kote taluk president Palaniswamy said the govt was steadily reducing the number of public schools and undermining public education. Stressing that education should first be imparted in mother tongue, he said the farmers’ body strongly opposed the KPS Magnet scheme.Former Maharani College Kannada professor Latha Mysore said she studied in a Kannada school and later retired as a Kannada professor, and accused bureaucrats of conspiring to deny education to working people.