Bengaluru, 4 November

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the government had set a target of linking 1,000 government schools with private institutions initially, with a broader plan to cover 2,000 schools.

“Our government has implemented a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy. The management of all private schools in the state should adopt government schools in rural areas or join hands in their development,” he said at the launch of the ‘Namma Shaale Namma Javabdari’ (Our School, Our Responsibility) programme, addressing CSR representatives of private school managements.

Shivakumar said children from rural and private schools should be brought together to ensure quality education and better opportunities for those in rural areas.

“We have divided the 6,000 panchayats into three categories,” he added and said results would begin showing in four to five years.

Appealing to private firms, he said, “If you are unable to spend Rs 5-10 crore to construct buildings, that is fine. Send 10 teachers each with expertise from your schools to government schools and pay their salaries. Providing laboratory equipment and computers will also be useful”.

Shivakumar said CSR-funded development works had begun in 30 schools in Bengaluru South district, with work completed in 10 per cent of them, underway in eight schools and agreements finalised for 12 schools. He cited Toyota’s assistance in constructing 23 schools in Ramanagara district, with an investment of Rs 10-15 crore in each school.

BEYOND BENGALURU

Shivakumar argued that the private investment in government schools outside of Bengaluru was needed to decongest the City.

“Road expansion in Bengaluru stands at just 8 per cent, whereas in Mysuru it is between 18 and 20 per cent. Bengaluru has a population of 1.40 crore and approximately 1.2 crore vehicles. Children spend nearly an hour travelling to school. Employment and education are among the major reasons for the growing congestion in Bengaluru,” Shivakumar said.  

“If children can access quality education in their own villages, it will help reduce the pressure on Bengaluru,” he added.

He urged the firms to make investing in government schools their top priority, saying that if private schools develop government schools, they will be permitted to associate their names with those schools.