Karnataka revamps private school, pre-university college recognition, relocation rules; safety checks via API

The Karnataka government has issued an order regarding registration, recognition, and relocation rules for private unaided and aided schools, pre-university colleges across the state. The objective of the new order is to bring transparency, accountability, and ease of compliance to private educational institutions.

According to an official notice, only 21.88% of private schools fulfilled the prescribed criteria and received recognition renewal in 2025-26. Unrecognised schools must be treated as unauthorised institutions, directly threatening the academic futures of enrolled students and the job security of their staff, it said.

The government also stated that the building safety certificates and fire safety certificates, previously submitted manually, will now be fetched directly from competent authorities through API integration. This will eliminate the scope for document fraud and ensuring student safety.

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Schools relocation powers reshuffled

“All details submitted by schools and colleges will also be made available in the public domain for stakeholder access, as directed by the Commissioner of School Education and the Director of Pre-University Education,” it added.

Moreover, the Karnataka government has also reclaimed authority over school relocation decisions after a rise in "unwarranted" transfers of primary and high schools across districts, the notice reads.

Earlier, the relocation power rested with the commissioner and additional commissioners of the school education department, which now have been withdrawn at the government level.

The relocation powers for private pre-primary and high schools have been re-delegated to the commissioner in Bangalore and additional commissioners in Kalaburagi and Dharwad, it said.

The authority to approve relocation of private pre-university colleges has been delegated to the director of the pre-university education department, it added.