Karnataka plans AI lessons for sixth graders and a new university

Karnataka has set plans in motion to bring Artificial Intelligence training to government school students starting from Class 6. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar issued these instructions during a review meeting covering his government's priority schemes, recruitments, and 100-day programmes.

School and Farm Plans

AI training is already active for Class 9 students in government schools, and officials must now work to expand it downward to younger grades with help from the Information Technology department and private partners. According to a CMO statement, Google has shown interest in offering AI training, and officials must check out the company's work in Telangana for this effort. Shivakumar also told officials to find land for a new AI university in the state and noted that steps are underway to hire 956 teachers on an outsourcing basis. In a separate push for rural exposure, urban school students in Classes 9 and 11 from 941 schools will visit progressive farmers' fields for overnight village stays in community halls and hostels by December. Private schools must also run this rural visit programme.

KPS and Agriculture

For the development of 1,000 Karnataka Public Schools, officials must get ready to lay foundation stones by November 14. Deputy commissioners now have the authority to approve tenders and project reports to speed things up. The state also aims to develop 100 Karnataka Public Schools using corporate social responsibility funds, and companies are already interested in 60 of them. In the agriculture sector, 25 lakh text messages have gone out to farmers under the CM Raitha Chaitanya Agritech Mission, and officials must add simple video messages explaining the scheme. The Hindustan Times notes that work is ongoing on a chatbot, along with plans for tenders on drone and satellite crop surveys. Under the CM Negilu Yogi scheme for farm machines, the JFarm app is ready with 2.5 lakh registered service providers, and services launch on November 1. The state also aims to train 2,000 farmers to become exporters by March 2027.

Context

State governments in India often use corporate partnerships and special priority missions to upgrade public school facilities and drive rural development. These administrative reviews help track targets set for various state departments within fixed timelines.