Karnataka to Establish Education Reform Committees at Taluk Level

Bengaluru, January 20, 2025 – In a significant move aimed at enhancing the quality of education across Karnataka, the state government has announced the formation of Education Reform Committees at the taluk level. These committees, to be chaired by the respective Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), will address key challenges such as increasing enrolment, ensuring regular attendance, and improving learning outcomes for students.

The committees will focus on monitoring and improving the performance of government schools and pre-university colleges within their respective taluks. As part of this initiative, very low enrolment schools will be merged with nearby institutions under a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model. This approach is expected to fill the gap left by the lack of sufficient time for education-related discussions during the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) review meetings.

The composition of these committees includes the tehsildar, the executive officer of the taluk panchayat, the block education officer, head teachers of schools with the highest enrolments in the taluk, and principals of government pre-university colleges with significant student strength. Additionally, senior lecturers from District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) will act as nodal officers for the committees1.

To ensure inclusivity, the committees will also include five nominated members from various communities, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), women, and a graduate from the general category. In taluks represented by a minister, a nominee appointed by the minister will chair the committee.

The primary functions of these committees include improving the quality of education by increasing school enrolment of all eligible children in the taluk, continuous monitoring of attendance of enrolled children and their learning, and working towards reducing the school dropout rate. They will also help the educational sector of the taluk through community participation in the development of government schools and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

This initiative is expected to leverage the influence of local leaders to ensure that every child has access to schooling and quality education. Reports on the committee’s activities and progress are to be submitted to the education department regularly.