Classrooms remain empty as the students did not turn-up during the re-opening of school academics at MPHS School in Kalaburagi on Tuesday.
Credit: DH Photo/ Prashanth H G
Bengaluru: At least 26 per cent of private schools, of the ones that were given permission to start, have shut shop in the last five years, according to government data.
Between 2019-20 and 2023-24 academic years, the department of school education and literacy gave permission to start 2,905 private unaided schools, of which 762 closed down.
According to data, though the highest number of schools were permitted in Vijayapura district with 292, just five of them shut down. Bengaluru South saw 255 new schools coming up but 85 of them closed down within five years of commencement. In Bengaluru North, the number of schools permitted were 75, and 56 of them shut down within five years.
School managements blame rigid norms imposed by the department after 2018 and also harassment by officers at the local-level in the garb of enforcing those norms.
D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka told DH that since 2018, having half-an-acre of land was made mandatory for starting a school, which not many can afford.
“Schools now need to go to three to four departments. Earlier, the education department was the only contact point. For fire safety and building plan approval, we need approach he respective departments, where getting the work done is hard,” he added.
They have submitted petitions to the government several times about harassment, he said.
Representatives of private school managements said a majority of the schools which closed down were budget schools affiliated to the state board.
“The demand and supply chain was also affected after the Covid pandemic,” added Shashi Kumar.
“In cities like Bengaluru, which is a hub of migrants, there were no students after the pandemic due to the exit of the migrant population, directly affecting the enrolment of budget private schools,” he added.
Private school managements said that to set up a new school, at least Rs 20 crore is needed and maintaining a minimum student strength is mandatory.
Another reason private school managements cited was the rise in the number of chain (franchisee) schools and entry of corporates into the education sector.
“Parents are attracted towards other board schools and so-called corporate and fancy chain schools,” said the management representative of a private school in Bengaluru.
He added that the increase in number of CBSE and ICSE schools has also contributed to the closure of state board schools which, he said face discrimination at the local level compared to other boards.
Highlights - Status in a few districts District Schools permitted Schools closed Belagavi 87 02 Vijayapura 292 05 Bengaluru South 255 85 Bengaluru North 75 56 Dakshina Kannada 79 69 Bengaluru Rural 65 11