A new corporate social responsibility (CSR) regulation that requires state-based businesses to use their CSR contributions in Karnataka is about to be unveiled by the state government.

Madhu Bangarappa, minister of school education and literacy, stated that the suggestion will be discussed at the upcoming cabinet meeting. “Any money raised for CSR in our state has to be used here. Karnataka should profit from what they make there. These monies can now be used anywhere. “We intend to cap that,” Madhu stated in a conversation with TOI on Wednesday. He claimed that previous attempts to direct CSR donations to Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) had failed because the government had little control over how the funds were used.

The Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are now providing financial support to the state. The minority welfare department would also assist in converting 100 Urdu schools into bilingual KPS establishments that offer instruction in both Urdu and English. Establishing 6,000 KPS schools—one in each gramme panchayat—is the long-term goal. Recruitment campaign

With the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) set on December 7, the minister declared that about 18,000 instructors would soon be hired for government and assisted schools.

The state is looking for legal counsel on how to fulfil the Supreme Court’s demand that in-service teachers take the exam as well. “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 said.

“We hired 51,000 teachers prior to the start of the school year last year alone. In just 3.5 years, the previous government had appointed just 4,700 teachers.

In contrast, we have hired 13,000 people in just 11 months. Before the following school year, an additional 18,000–11,000 will be assigned to government schools, and 7,000 to assisted ones. defends lowering the minimal pass marks. The minister defended the government’s decision to lower the pass mark from 35% to 33%, saying it was a “brave and historic” move meant to give students more opportunities for advancement. Madhu said he modified his viewpoint after acknowledging the criticism from legislative council chairman Basavaraj Horatti and higher education minister MC Sudhakar.

In 2024, Horatti himself pushed for a drop in the passing score. He clarified that some of the current opponents of the change are motivated by special interests and are unaware of its goals.

“I will not discuss it with him,” Madhu said in response to Sudhakar’s complaint that he was not consulted. My department is this one. Madhu stated that a subcommittee is examining the expert panel’s suggestions regarding the State Education Policy (SEP). I won’t get into the specifics, but some of the recommendations are nasty. Which proposals to accept will be decided by the cabinet,” he stated.