Representative image of a school classroom.
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The Karnataka government’s decision to incentivise teachers in government schools to improve SSLC results and increase student enrolment is a welcome shift from a system long reliant on reprimand and punitive action. Recognising and rewarding good performance is essential to motivate teachers, especially when many work under challenging circumstances with limited support. Yet it only scratches the surface of what ails the state’s public education system. The most glaring is the 60,000-plus teacher vacancies that have accumulated over the years. The recent decision to appoint 51,000 guest teachers may temporarily plug the gap, but it raises a troubling question: why was such a massive shortage allowed to fester until it became a crisis? Incentives cannot substitute for the absence of qualified, permanent teachers in thousands of classrooms.
This year’s SSLC results — a pass percentage of 62.34 per cent— highlight deeper structural issues. In 2024, stricter anti-malpractice measures, such as CCTV webcasting, initially pushed the pass rate down to 54 per cent, only for it to climb to 73.4 per cent after the generous distribution of grace marks. In hindsight, the previous year’s 83.89 per cent now looks misleading. Karnataka cannot build a credible education system on cameras, grace marks, and tinkering with pass percentages. Nor will reducing the pass mark from 35 per cent to 33 per cent address the learning deficit. The bigger picture demands attention. The state allocates only 10-12 per cent of its Budget to education — far short of the recommended 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Most of this goes towards salaries, leaving little for infrastructure, training, or pedagogical reforms.
Government schools will produce better students only when classrooms are provided with the required resources, schools are equipped with proper laboratories, and teacher quality is continuously assessed and upgraded. Child-wise tracking of learning outcomes must become standard practice. The success of Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS) schools run by the social welfare department offers a powerful lesson. With a 91 per cent pass rate and top state ranks, these schools prove that when the most marginalised sections are given the best education, excellence follows. If the KREIS can achieve this with disadvantaged children, why can't the education department replicate this model more broadly? For far too long, the state has oscillated between crisis management and cosmetic fixes. Incentives for teachers are a step forward, but Karnataka needs nothing less than a structural overhaul. A society that aspires to progress must ensure that its poorest children receive not just schooling, but the highest quality of education.