BENGALURU: Karnataka’s education department had an eventful year, sticking to its promises and rolling out several key initiatives. From introducing the three-term examination system to reinstating the three-year degree programme in public universities and affiliated colleges, the department achieved much of what it set out to do. But is this enough to address the ongoing challenges in the education sector?
While implementing new schemes is crucial, the education department must address the long-standing gaps that persist. Despite years of data pointing to issues like teacher shortages in rural areas, high dropout rates, crumbling school infrastructure, and declining research output, these challenges remain unaddressed.
2024 also witnessed the introduction of three annual examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 students, aimed at reducing academic pressure. While this move provides students with multiple opportunities to improve their scores, it also raises questions about the long-term effectiveness of such a system.
By allowing examinations in March, May, and August, the education department hopes to relieve the stress of a single high-stakes examination. However, this could lead to increased pressure as students may feel compelled to take multiple attempts to perform better. Though the reform reflects a shift toward a more flexible approach, it also requires careful monitoring to ensure it truly benefits students without creating new challenges.
At the beginning of 2024, the department issued a circular mandating that taluk and block-level officials run compulsory awareness campaigns from June to bring students back to school. School headmasters and department officials were also directed to complete repair work by May to ensure a student-friendly environment. While these measures were put in place, the reality on the ground tells a different story.
Despite the directives, many schools continue to struggle with infrastructure issues, and efforts to bring students back have not yielded the expected results.
While new curriculum frameworks and action plans for holistic student development were introduced, the increasing vacancies in schools, pre-university institutions, and colleges have been largely ignored by the government. This failure continues to leave the education system crippled.
This year, the department signed an MoU with the UK’s Chevening Scholarships programme, becoming the first southern state to offer a unique scholarship for women graduates to pursue Master’s degrees in the UK. While this may appear as a progressive move, the department fails to grasp a crucial reality -- holistic education starts at the ground level.
Without a solid foundation in local schools and colleges — where staffing shortages, poor infrastructure, and outdated curricula persist — such opportunities will remain out of reach for most students. Preparing candidates for prestigious scholarships is meaningless if the base is crumbling.
Government schools continue to paint a grim picture year after year, yet this is not a future that the next generation should be inheriting. The persistent failures in infrastructure, staffing, and resources paint a bleak reality for students, undermining their potential.
Effective monitoring systems to identify struggling students, assessing whether policies are working, and ensuring subject-specific teacher support are essential to prevent the closure of more schools.
These initiatives are the only way to stop schools already on the brink from adding to the growing list of those that have shut down. Immediate action is crucial to prevent further deterioration of the education system and to give every student a chance to succeed.