Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has asked officials to widen AI education beyond Class 9 with help from the IT department and private partners, while pushing school infrastructure and farm-exposure programmes at a progress review.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has asked officials to work out how artificial intelligence training can be offered in government schools starting from Class 6. He wants the IT department and private partners to support the effort.
The instructions came at a review meeting on the state government's 100-day programmes, recruitment drives and priority schemes. According to the Chief Minister's Office, AI training has already begun for Class 9 students in government schools, and the aim now is to bring younger students into the fold.
AI push and teacher recruitment
The CMO said Google has shown interest in delivering AI training in schools. Officials were told to study the company's work in Telangana as part of planning.
Shivakumar also asked for land to be identified for an AI university in the state. Separately, steps are under way to hire 956 teachers on an outsourcing basis.
Farm visits and school infrastructure
Reviewing the School Education Department, the Chief Minister asked for visits by Class 9 and 11 students from 941 urban schools to farms run by progressive farmers. Students should be given overnight stays in villages, using community halls and hostels. Private schools must also take part, and the programme is to be wrapped up by December.
On the planned 1,000 Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), he told officials to finish preparations for laying foundation stones by November 14. To speed up delivery, deputy commissioners have been authorised to approve detailed project reports and tenders for these schools.
The government also intends to build 100 KPS schools using corporate social responsibility funds. Companies have so far expressed interest in developing 60 of them.
Outreach to farmers
In the Agriculture Department review, Shivakumar noted that 25 lakh SMS messages have been sent to farmers under the CM Raitha Chaitanya Agritech Mission. He asked officials to follow these up with video messages that explain the scheme in simple terms, so that more farmers can understand and use it.
