Bengaluru

TheADB and the Karnataka government on Friday signed an agreement under which the multilateral agency will provide Rs 1,750 crore assistance for developing 500 government schools across the state as KPS.

The agreement was signed at Vidhana Soudha in the presence of Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa. Under the project, the state government plans to invest Rs 2,500 crore over the next four years, till 2029-30, for developing the 500 Karnataka Public Schools (KPS).

While the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Rs 1,750 crore, the state government will contribute Rs 750 crore. Schools with the potential to attract a larger number of students are being selected for upgradation as KPS institutions, with the objective of enabling each school to cater to at least 1 ,200 students.

KPS are model government-run schools that provide education from pre-primary to II PU under one roof, with both English and Kannada medium options. Bangarappa said the ADB assistance would help comprehensively develop all 500 schools.

“Over the next four years, that is, by 2029-30, the state government will spend Rs 2,500 crore to develop 500 Karnataka Public Schools. ADB will provide Rs 1,750 crore in assistance, while the remaining Rs 750 crore will be provided by the state government,” he said, according to a release from his office.

The minister said the agreement was finalised following discussions with senior ADB officials and claimed that this was the first time the bank.