The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government on Friday presented the state budget 2024-25 with the focus of school education resting on improving learning outcomes and betterment of existing government schools.
Presenting the budget, Siddaramaiah said that Education, health and skilling, the foundation for human development will be the areas of our focus in the coming days. “We will work towards fostering scientific temperament among students and create a conducive environment for their holistic growth by developing schools of high quality at Gram panchayat level,” he added.
While 2023-24 an expenditure of Rs.600 crore was made towards education, in the current year, Rs.850 crore has been targeted.
To ensure students have all essential skills to compete globally, more Karnataka Public Schools will be started.
The budget also enlists initiatives directed towards improving learning outcomes of students. The ‘Ganitha-Ganaka’ program will be started in collaboration with J-PAL Institute for students studying between classes 3 and 5 to make mathematics likable and easy for students.
Similarly, Siddaramaiah said that the Marusinchana Programme will be taken up at a cost of Rs.10 crore to improve the learning ability of students of classes 6 and 7 who are not upto the desirable learning level.
Other initiatives are directed at boosting scientific temper among students. “Rs. 50 crore earmarked for providing Science and Computer Labs and internet facility under a two-year package in Government High Schools with higher enrollment. A grant of Rs.10 lakh each will be provided to upgrade science labs in pre-university colleges with enrollment of more than 400 in science stream,” the chief minister said.
Other significant announcements:
- NEET/JEE/CET Training programme will be organized for about 20,000 science students at Government Pre-University colleges at Rs. 10 crore.
- 2,000 Government Primary schools will be upgraded as bilingual schools (Kannada and English).
- Navu Manujaru, two-hour interactive class every week to promote ideas of social harmony, scientific temper and coexistence.
- 74 Adarsh schools in the State to be upgraded as pre-university colleges with commerce and science combinations.
- Computer science to be introduced in 100 Government pre-university colleges with highest enrollment at Rs. 10 crore.
Also read: Union Budget 2024-25 and Education: Hits and Misses