Most of the schools that were closed in the first year of the pandemic were in the private sector and they were operating classes 1 to 12 across the state. Interestingly, though the number of schools decreased, the number of teachers increased from 4,50,592 (during 2019-20) to 4,54,323 during 2020-21.
Karnataka Minister of Education BC Nagesh Said that the state has “enough schools in the government sector” and they can absorb students affected by the untimely and sudden closure of private schools.
As per Udise+ data, 77,166 schools were functioning during 2019-20. This reduced to 76,905 in 2020-21.
The number of public sector schools decreased from 49,834 to 49,791. The number of government aided schools decreased from 7,244 to 7,182. The worst hit were unaided private schools, whose numbers fell from 20,069 to 19,915 with 154 schools closed. Two schools listed as ‘others’ also closed in 2020-21.
Along with this, the enrollment in pre-primary schools has come down by almost half in 2020-21 as compared to last year. In 2020-21, at least 2,78,311 children were admitted to pre-primary classes. In the previous year (2019-20), it was 5,94,220. D SasikumarSecretary General of Associated Management of Primary and secondary schoolsSaid that the parents did not show any interest to pay the minimum fee during 2020-21 even though they chose the schools on the basis of the quality education provided by them.
“Moreover, the Karnataka government did not offer any benefits or offer Covid-19 exemptions. The Education Department continued with strict guidelines for renewal of permission. As a result, some schools were left with no option but to shut down,” he said.