Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar will inaugurate a new CBSE school in Chikkodi, in Belagavi district of Karnataka, on February 28.
“The KLE English Medium School, which commenced operations in Chikkodi in 2020, is spread over a five-acre campus with a built-up area of 1,05,000 sqft and necessitated an investment of ₹17 crores,” Prabhakar Kore, KLE Society chairman, told reporters in Belagavi on February 26.
“We are inviting Dr. Jaishankar because he had served as a probationary officer in Chikkodi for a few months, several decades ago. He told me about his stint when we were serving as members of the Rajya Sabha,” said Mr Kore.
“The school is equipped with modern classrooms with IT infrastructure, hi-tech computer and science laboratories, library with digital facilities, sports infrastructure, and facilities for training in music and arts. For the benefit of rural students, a well-organised and monitored travel facility in the form of school buses has also been set up. Over 400 students are enrolled from nursery to class 8 who are being handled by 50 staff members,” he said.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, MLC Prakash Hukkeri, MLAs Ganesh Hukkeri and Mahantesh Koujalagi, MP Annasaheb Jolle, and KLE Society president, Praveen B. Kamble, are expected to participate in the inaugural event.
KLE Society was established in 1916 with a single school. It now runs 310 institutions in education, healthcare and research. It has 1,38,000 students, and a staff strength of over 18,000.
Over 50% of its institutions are based in rural and semi-urban areas. KLE has Kannada and English medium schools at Ankali, Nipani, Haveri, Soundatti, Athani, Gadag, Gokak, Malur, Galataga, and Kerur.
The highlight of these institutions is that their infrastructure is at par with similar institutions in urban areas. KLE Society has 15 CBSE schools, and seven State board English medium schools in Karnataka and Maharashtra. These cater to over 21,000 students, according to Mr. Kore.
