Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is preparing to introduce a new corporate social responsibility policy that will require companies operating in the state to spend their CSR funds within Karnataka. School education and literacy minister Madhu Bangarappa said the proposal will be placed before the cabinet in the coming meeting.

"Any CSR fund generated in our state must be spent here. What they earn in Karnataka should benefit Karnataka. Currently, these funds can be spent anywhere. We plan to put a cap on that," Madhu said during an interaction with TOI. He noted that earlier efforts to direct CSR contributions to Karnataka Public Schools did not succeed because utilisation of the funds was outside government control.

To support school infrastructure, the state is now seeking financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board. In addition, the minority welfare department will help convert 100 Urdu schools into bilingual Karnataka Public Schools offering both English and Urdu. The long-term plan is to set up 6,000 KPS institutions so that each gram panchayat has one.

Madhu also announced that around 18,000 teachers will be appointed soon in government and aided schools, with the Teacher Eligibility Test scheduled for 7 December.

In a separate development, he said the state is examining the Supreme Court’s direction that in-service teachers must also take the exam and is seeking legal advice on the matter. He pointed out earlier shortages in the teaching workforce. "Initially, there was a shortage of 60,000 teachers, and schools relied heavily on guest lecturers who were neither appointed on time nor paid regularly," he explained. "Last year alone, we had appointed 51,000 teachers before the academic year began. The previous govt had appointed a mere 4,700 teachers in a span of 3.5 years. But on the contrary, we have recruited 13,000 in 11 months. Another 18,000-11,000 will be appointed to govt schools and 7,000 to aided ones before the next academic year."

Madhu also defended the government’s move to reduce the minimum pass mark from 35% to 33%. He described it as a "brave and historic" step aimed at giving students better chances for upward mobility. He acknowledged opposition from higher education minister MC Sudhakar and legislative council chairman Basavaraj Horatti, adding that Horatti had previously supported lowering the pass mark. "Horatti himself advocated lowering the pass mark in 2024. Some people opposing the move now are driven by vested interests, they don't understand its purpose," he said. Responding to Sudhakar’s criticism that he was not consulted, Madhu remarked, "I will not discuss it with him. This is my department."

On the State Education Policy, he said a sub-committee is reviewing recommendations submitted by an expert panel. "Some of the suggestions are vindictive, and I won't go into details. The cabinet will decide which recommendations to accept," he added.

BI Bureau