Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 20 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday chaired a meeting at his home office 'Krishna' to review issues related to the Department of School Education and Literacy, with a focus on the upcoming Karnataka Public School (KPS) scheme and improvement in examination results.

The Karnataka Public School (KPS) scheme will be launched in Shivamogga on June 1.

Under the scheme, each KPS will accommodate 1,200 students, offering education from LKG to PUC in both Kannada and English mediums in a single campus.

The Chief Minister directed that all 800 KPS schools be made fully ready within the next two years and asked officials to begin the tender process immediately to set up 800 schools this year.

He also directed officials to examine providing school bus facilities for KPS schools and to submit proposals for filling teacher vacancies to the Finance Department.

The meeting also noted a significant improvement in examination results.

Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) pass percentage stood at 94.10 per cent, an increase of 14.06 per cent compared to last year, while PUC results rose to 86.48 per cent, up from 73.45 per cent last year. A total of 2,393 SSLC schools recorded 100 per cent results this year, compared to 766 last year.

Category-wise performance also improved, with SC and ST students showing an 18 per cent rise. Gains were also recorded across other categories, including Category-1 (16.6 per cent), 2A (11.5 per cent), 2B (18 per cent), 3A (8.12 per cent) and 3B (10 per cent). In Kalyana Karnataka, SSLC results improved by 2 per cent, and rural students outperformed urban students in both SSLC and II PUC examinations.

Officials said the improvement came after measures such as statewide parent-teacher meetings, appointment of guest teachers, textbook-based study plans, state-level preparatory exams, regular teacher training and special focus programmes in Kalyana Karnataka.

The meeting also reviewed a proposal to distribute free notebooks along with free textbooks to students. (ANI)