Karnataka Budget | Improving learning outcomes in schools our priority: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: To improve the learning outcomes in schools, the Karnataka government will be collaborating with select private institutions, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday.

For instance, an AI-based "Kalika Deepa" programme will help students in 2,000 schools to learn Kannada and English languages confidently and acquire early mathematical competencies. This is being done in collaboration with Ek-Step Foundation, he said while presenting his 16th budget in the Assembly.

In another collaborative programme called "Jnana Setu", in which schools will work with Khan Academy, science and maths will be taught using innovative methods, the CM said.

"The programme will benefit 20 lakh students and 15,000 teachers in 5,000 government schools," he added.

I-Code Labs will be set up in collaboration with Agasthya Foundation to introduce coding for students of government schools. "Under this project, 63 select schools with ICT facilities will be identified as hubs, benefiting 756 schools," he said.

He also added that an ambitious three-year programme will be implemented to ensure students from LKG to second PUC reach the learning outcomes as per their grades. "Results of SSLC and PUC is intended to be improved through these reforms." Programmes such as 'Kalika Chilume' (to make learning joyful for students of classes 1 to 5), 'Ganita-Ganaka' (one-on-one phone-based math teaching for students of classes 3 to 5), 'Odhu Karnataka', (foundational literacy and numeracy skills for classes 4 and 5) and 'Marusinchana' (to increase the learning capacity of students from classes 6 to 10) will be implemented, the CM said.

With the success of "Vidya Vijeta" programme, in which 25,000 students of government pre-university colleges were provided CET/NEET/JEE training, another Rs 5 crore will be allocated in the current financial year to continue the programme, he said.

He also said as the pre-primary classes started in 2,619 government schools received good response with 90,195 children enrolling, the scheme will also be extended to 5,000 schools at a cost of Rs 70 crore.

According to him, Karnataka Public Schools, established during the previous tenure of Congress government, will also be expanded. "A total of 500 new Karnataka Public Schools will be started at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore with assistance from the Asian Development Bank," Siddaramaiah said.

Also, under the 'Akshara Aavishkara' scheme, select 50 schools in Kalyana Karnataka region will be upgraded as Karnataka Public Schools at a cost of Rs 200 crore, he added.