1132 private schools in Karnataka records zero enrolments this academic year

According to the data accessed by indianexpress.com from the Department of School Education of Karnataka, out of the 1132 schools, 367 lower primary schools, 466 higher primary schools, and 299 high schools recorded zero admissions this year. In fact, according to the data presented by state School Education Minister B C Nagesh during the budget session in March 2022, 966 private unaided schools recorded zero enrolments for the year 2021-22. There has been an increase of 166 schools in 2022-23 which recorded zero admissions.

This year, 523 government schools and 176 government-aided schools recorded zero enrolments. Therefore, as many as 1831 schools in Karnataka recorded zero enrolments for 2022-23. The data also reveals that 745 pre-university colleges have also recorded zero enrolments this academic year.

According to education officials, many private schools did not record enrolment in the last two years because of the coronavirus pandemic, forcing them to shut down. From falling short of paying rent to provide poor quality education, the reasons for deteriorating admission numbers are many.

Block education officers (BEOs) point out that the quality of education in many private schools, especially in rural areas, is deteriorating because the schools have not been able to recruit qualified teachers.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Raghu said his father’s death and the financial status of the family, led to the sorry state of the school. “My father ventured into education only after crossing 65 years. All things went well until the pandemic struck. With online classes taking precedence and with low admission rates, it was getting difficult to pay rent for the building. Rs 50,000 was spent on rent and another Rs 50,000 on teachers’ salaries. After school reopened in 2022, we did not see any new admissions. My father got worried and his health started deteriorating and eventually led to his death and then we had to shut the school”.

He added before the pandemic the admissions from LKG to Class 7 were recorded at 120. The school had eight teachers and most of them voluntarily resigned and did not turn up for work after learning that no new admissions were recorded in the school.

Shruti K, a teacher, is now looking for a new job at another school, after Icon International School in Bengaluru—where she was working earlier—closed down in March 2020 because of zero admissions. The school was started in 2013 and accommodated students from pre-nursery to Class 8. The school had 20 teachers and all of them are now in search of a new job.

According to C V Hugar, chief secretary of the school, the trustees of the institution stopped contributing after the pandemic. “We shut down the school at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, after trustees were not willing to fund the school. We used to spend Rs 1,70,000 on building rent, and Rs 3,50,000 for teachers’ salaries, electricity, and maintenance per month. The landlord was not willing to reduce the rent, as a result, we had to shut down the school,” said Hugar.

However, according to education officers in Mangalore’s South taluk, some private schools shut down due to competition from other private schools. For example, according to an education officer, Preethi Lower Primary School in Nandigudda recorded zero admission for 2021 and shut down after facing competition from other schools. “The school had good infrastructure and sufficient teaching staff. However, students took transfer certificates to nearby private schools which fared better,” said an education official.

But Lily Pereira, founder of the school, said it has been running since 1994. “I initially started the school because there were no schools in the neighbourhood. But cut to 2020, many private schools sprung up. Generally, we used to record very low admissions because the level of education was only till Class 5. Moreover, most of our students were from North India. With a lack of continuity and with students going back to their native during the pandemic, we recorded zero admissions, forcing us to shut the school. We always had about 45-50 students every year,” said Pereira, who now runs Babyland, a kindergarten school.

In Belagavi, however, education officials pointed out that the better-facilitated government schools are forcing students out of private schools. For example, KLPS Birasiddeshwar Sundholi school in Belgavi’s Mudalagi taluk lacked good infrastructure and quality education, which became the reason for zero admissions.

Ajjappa Mannikeri, BEO of Mudalagi taluk, said, “We have asked the school to hand over the school records to nearby government schools because the management was no longer able to run the private school. The admission numbers were zero for the 2021-22 year and around 50 students from classes 1-5 are being shifted to nearby government schools. There are three government schools, including one girls-only school, a 100-year-old boys’ school, and a lower primary school. The quality of education and lack of qualified teachers deteriorated the admissions to the school”.

Lokesh Talikatte, president of the Registered Unaided Private Schools Association, which represents 13,000 budget schools in the state, said, “The government must provide time for private schools to revive. If Covid-19 is one of the reasons, the harassment by district and taluk-level education officials is another that has led to the devastating condition of private schools. The government should provide time for schools to apply for renewal of permission, and submit land records, among other documents. Instead, the officials threaten and shut down schools.”