Karnataka mandates gynaecologist check-ups for girls, sex education, counselling in schools, edu institutions

The Karnataka government has mandated gynaecological check-ups for girl students, sex education and counselling in schools and other educational institutions, the Hindu reported.

The announcement is part of a joint departmental circular aimed at preventing teenage pregnancies, child marriages and sexual abuse, while strengthening child protection mechanisms, the report read.

All schools should have gynaecological checkups for girls by a gynaecologist and introduce sex education, the report said.

The aim is to help children understand more about child rights, prevent teenage pregnancies and child marriage, and make campuses safer, the report added.

Also read Karnataka's draft teacher transfer rules propose compulsory 9-year tenures in KPS, other flagship schools

Karnataka govt directs schools to set up child protection panel

Moreover, the government has also directed schools to set up child protection committees (with parents, teachers, and students) that meet regularly, it said.

“Experienced and qualified counselors on campus are now required to address the mental health and other challenges faced by adolescent students,” the report read.

Furthermore, schools should have to report if a girl student in a school or residential school remains absent for over 3 days without providing any information, it added.

The school principal should also have to inform the gram panchayat and the child helpline in writing, it said.

In addition, there's new focus on stopping school-going children from being subjected to child labor and making sure girls who have dropped out of school get back into class until they're 18, the report added.

In August 2026, the central government informed the Supreme Court that it agrees in principle to introduce Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) across Indian schools, completing a two-decade policy reversal.