Government schools in Karnataka to open social media accounts to boost enrollment
Highlighting facilities, student talents, admissions info, exam results, day-to-day activities
Bengaluru: Seeking to bring government schools on a par with private institutions, the Karnataka government has directed all government schools to create social media accounts.
In a set of instructions released to the government schools to increase enrollment for 2026-27 academic year, cited by Deccan Herald on Friday, the department of School Education and Literacy has instructed the head masters of the schools to ensure that the school has a presence on social media.
“Schools should open accounts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X. These platforms should be used to popularise the schools by posting facilities available, student talents, enrollment details, board exam results and other day-to-day activities,” instruction reads.
The admission campaign, launched this month, will continue until June 2026. Teachers, School Development and Monitoring Committee members, and other stakeholders have been asked to educate parents about facilities provided at the government schools and encourage them to consider the same for their children.
Acknowledging the reach of social media even in rural areas, the department has emphasised that every government school in rural areas too must take part in the digital outreach.
Officials also believe that sharing success stories of former students could inspire confidence among parents. “Several alumni of government schools have scaled new heights. Posting videos of and information about such old students on social media will help to attract more admissions,” DH quoted a senior official of the department as saying.
Meanwhile, the department has decided to restart summer camps in government schools from the 2026–27 academic year.
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Karnataka Minister urges Centre to launch Bengaluru–Vijayapura express train
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil has urged the Centre to launch an express train service between Bengaluru and Vijayapura.
The demand comes following the completion of the 9.60-km double-line railway work between Alamatti and Wandal, which has been open for traffic since March 25, the Minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"He has written a letter regarding this on March 30 to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister V Somanna," it said.
In the letter, Patil stated that the Alamatti–Wandal section, part of the Gadag–Hotgi double-line project, has now been completed. During an earlier meeting, it was mentioned that once this work was finished, an express train between Bengaluru and Vijayapura could be introduced. He has now requested that this be given priority.
He highlighted that thousands of people from Vijayapura and Bagalkote districts travel daily to Bengaluru for education, healthcare, administrative work, and business, and this train service would greatly benefit them.
According to him, currently, the train journey between the two cities takes about 15 hours, which is inconvenient.
He stressed the need to reduce this travel time to around 10 hours.
The minister also requested that trains departing from Bengaluru be given a limited stops upto Hubballi, and that trains proceeding to Vijayapura should be routed via the Hubballi and Gadag bypass lines.
