Karnataka Preschools Face Existential Threat as Government Imposes Stringent Norms, Warns Association

25 ಸಾವಿರ ಪೂರ್ವ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಶಾಲೆಗಳು ಮುಚ್ಚುವ ಭೀತಿ: ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕ ಸರಳ ನಿಯಮ ರಚಿಸುವಂತೆ ಕೆಸಿಪಿಎಸ್ ಒತ್ತಾಯ

Bengaluru, February 25: The Karnataka Council of Preschools (KCPS) has urged the state government to immediately halt what it describes as “harassment” of pre-primary schools through the imposition of rigid regulations originally designed for large educational institutions, warning that nearly five lakh women employees and thousands of small business owners face an uncertain future if the norms are enforced without modification.

Addressing a press conference at the Press Club here on Wednesday, KCPS Secretary Prithvi Banavasi expressed serious concern over recent government circulars that mandate pre-primary schools to comply with infrastructure and documentation requirements that are practically impossible for small, neighbourhood-based preschools to meet.

“Over 25,000 pre-primary schools are operating across Karnataka, and if the government proceeds with its current approach to shut them down, it will not only impose a massive financial burden on lakhs of families but also jeopardise the livelihoods of approximately five lakh women employees who form the backbone of this sector,” Banavasi stated.

Unrealistic Demands and Legal Hurdles

According to Banavasi, the recent government circular mandates that pre-primary schools must secure a 30-year lease agreement for their premises—a requirement he termed commercially unviable and impractical in the private real estate market. “No property owner in the private market is willing to enter into such a long-term lease arrangement. This condition alone threatens to shut down thousands of preschools operating in rented premises across residential areas,” he explained.

Adding to the sector’s woes is the stipulation that each classroom must measure a minimum of 18×20 feet. Banavasi pointed out that this norm is impossible to fulfill for preschools operating out of homes in residential layouts and stands in contradiction to the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP), which encourages diverse and flexible learning environments.

“The requirement to obtain land conversion certificates for educational purposes, even for small pre-primary schools, is both financially and legally unattainable for small entrepreneurs. These are not large institutions; they are micro-enterprises run by women and first-generation entrepreneurs trying to provide quality early childhood education,” Banavasi added.

Portal Access and Corruption Concerns

The KCPS also raised serious concerns about the functioning of the school registration portal, which is currently inaccessible to the public and operates only through Block Education Officer (BEO) offices. This lack of transparency, Banavasi alleged, is paving the way for corruption and administrative delays.

“When a simple online registration process is kept out of public reach and confined to government offices, it naturally leads to rent-seeking behaviour and unnecessary delays. This is a classic case of creating hurdles where none should exist,” he said.

Economic Fallout and Monopoly Fears

The association warned that forcing preschools to close would have a cascading effect on the education sector and the broader economy. With fewer options available, parents would be left with no choice but to enrol their children in larger, more expensive institutions.

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“If these small preschools are forced to shut down, the monopoly of large schools will increase significantly, and we estimate that school fees could rise by as much as five times. This will make quality early childhood education inaccessible to a large section of society,” Banavasi cautioned.

Demand for Separate Framework

The KCPS has called upon the government to constitute a high-level committee immediately to formulate separate and simplified regulations specifically tailored for pre-primary schools, recognising their unique nature and requirements.

“What applies to a large K-12 school with hundreds of students cannot and should not apply to a small preschool with 20-30 children. We need a regulatory framework that ensures quality and safety without strangling the sector with impractical demands,” Banavasi emphasised.

The association maintained that while it fully supports reasonable regulations to ensure child safety and educational quality, the current norms are excessive and threaten to wipe out an entire ecosystem of early childhood education that has evolved organically to meet community needs.

Office bearers Dr. Arun Prasad, Savita Patil, Sandhya, Sahana Nagendra, Somanath, Sampath Kumar, and Chirag Agarwal were present at the press conference.