Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced a major push for education in Karnataka. The plan includes hiring 15,000 teachers by 2026-27 and building 800 new Karnataka Public Schools for Rs 3,900 crore. PUC students will now get free textbooks, and AI-based digital learning is also on the cards.
The Karnataka government is set to fill 15,000 vacant teaching posts in schools and colleges by the 2026-27 academic year. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced the construction of 800 new Karnataka Public Schools over the next three years, with a budget of Rs 3,900 crore.
He also shared that Anganwadi children will get activity books, while students from classes 1 to 10 will receive textbooks and value education books. For the first time, even pre-university (PUC) students will get their textbooks for free.
The CM mentioned that as per the 2025-26 budget, 184 government primary schools were already upgraded to high schools, and 50 high schools became PU colleges. The process for getting and renewing school recognition has also been made simpler by moving it online. Another first for the 2025-26 year is that all student benefits are being sent directly to their accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Certificates like rural and Kannada-medium study proofs are also being issued online now.
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800 New Public Schools to be Built
Under the slogan 'Better Learning, Bright Future', the government will upgrade 800 schools into Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) to provide quality education under one roof. The funding for this Rs 3,900 crore project will come from three sources: 500 schools will be funded with help from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 200 from the KKRDB fund, and 100 from the KMERC fund.
To ensure these schools are well-staffed, teacher posts in KPS will be treated as high-priority during transfer counselling and recruitment.
Free Textbooks for PUC Students Too
The government is serious about strengthening its schools and improving enrolment numbers. While students from classes 1 to 10 already get free textbooks, this scheme will be expanded from the 2026-27 academic year. Pre-primary kids will get activity books, classes 1-10 will get value education books, and PUC students will finally get free textbooks.
A total of Rs 565 crore has been set aside for building new classrooms and repairing old ones in government primary schools, high schools, and PU colleges. Another Rs 75 crore will be used for building toilets, and Rs 25 crore for buying new furniture. For school maintenance, Rs 125 crore will be transferred directly to the School Development and Monitoring Committees.
To introduce bilingual classes in primary schools, a Rs 24 crore English language training program will be launched for teachers. In a tie-up with IIT Dharwad, around 12.28 lakh students from classes 8 to 12 will get a personal digital tutor powered by AI. This project will cost about Rs 5 crore.
To help students deal with stress, a qualified mental health counsellor will be appointed in each of the 204 Block Resource Centres (BRCs). The government has also allocated Rs 10 crore this year to start rebuilding the hostel buildings at the Sainik School in Vijayapura.
Finally, there will be a strict crackdown on drug use in schools and colleges, with awareness programs and help centres being set up to tackle the issue.
Also read: Karnataka Budget 2026-27: Siddaramaiah unveils Rs 4.48 lakh crore plan
