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Student organisations in Karnataka have opposed the state government’s Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) Magnet School system, demanding its immediate withdrawal, alleging that the policy will shut down village schools and push children out of government education.
Leaders from multiple student groups, some affiliated with political parties, raised concerns at a joint press conference in Bengaluru on January 21, 2026, calling the policy anti-rural and detrimental to poor students.
The press conference was jointly organised by AISF, SFI, All India Students Association (AISA), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO).
Vijay Kumar T S, state secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI), said that under the KPS Magnet School system, several village schools would be merged into a single central school, forcing students to travel long distances.
“This system ignores the realities of rural life and increases the dropout rate, especially among poor children,” Kumar said.
“It has been 78 years since Independence, yet governments have failed to provide quality education to all. Not only the present ruling party, but even the previous BJP government neglected public education,” he added.
The Karnataka government launched Karnataka Public Schools in 2018–19 to integrate existing schools administratively and academically and provide education from pre-primary to Class 12. In practice, the policy involves designating select schools as KPS institutions and absorbing smaller village schools into them. These KPS schools are promised facilities such as computer labs and smart classrooms, with instruction in both Kannada and English. Currently, there are 308 KPS schools in the state.
The Magnet School system was piloted in November 2024 in Bengaluru South district, where seven primary and higher primary schools in Channapatna taluk were absorbed into a KPS school in Honganuru village. The government plans to expand the model statewide.
Subhash Betta Koppa, state treasurer of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO), called for the policy’s immediate halt. “Instead of shutting down village schools, the government should strengthen them by filling teacher vacancies and improving infrastructure,” he said, adding that nearly 60,000 teacher posts are currently vacant in the state.
School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa has said the government plans to hire 6,000 teachers for art, music and physical education exclusively for KPS schools.
Veena Nayak, state president of the All India Students Federation (AISF), raised concerns about transparency in policy implementation. “The government is moving towards shutting down government schools in rural Karnataka, which will lead to large-scale privatization of education and even public health services,” she said.
Protests against the KPS Magnet School system have been held in Varuna in Mysuru district and other locations, with parents, teachers, students and villagers demanding that local government schools be protected.