Karnataka has announced a 10-day closure for government and government-aided schools from October 8 to October 18, as the state pushes to complete its ongoing social and educational caste survey. The move comes after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet reviewed the progress and found that while several districts had nearly finished the survey, others continued to lag behind.
The Chief Minister said the survey, which began earlier this year, is part of an effort to gather accurate data on social, educational, and economic parameters across all communities. The government hopes the data will help shape future welfare and reservation policies more effectively.
Why the school break?
Teachers across the state have been playing a key role in conducting the caste survey. Since many are directly involved in data collection and verification, the government decided to temporarily suspend classes to allow them to complete the task.
“We were supposed to end the survey work on October 7. But in some districts, the survey is almost completed, while in others, it was lagging,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after a review meeting with ministers and officials.
For instance, the Koppal district has achieved nearly 97% completion, while the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts stand at 63% and 60%, respectively. “In the entire state, the survey has not been completed as we expected,” the Chief Minister said.
To speed up the remaining work, the government decided to extend the deadline to October 18, with eight effective working days available for field officers and teachers to finish data collection. Schools will remain closed during this period, except for those conducting mid-term exams — where teachers will be exempted from survey duties.
A massive data exercise
The ongoing survey, described as one of the most comprehensive social mapping projects in Karnataka’s history, aims to document caste-wise data for every household. The last such survey, conducted in 2015, had triggered intense political debate after the findings were not made public.
This time, the state has placed a stronger emphasis on transparency, digitisation, and accuracy. The collected data will feed into a central database designed to help the government tailor social welfare schemes, scholarships, and affirmative action programs more precisely.
According to officials, the survey covers parameters like family income, land ownership, literacy levels, housing conditions, and access to government welfare schemes, in addition to caste information.
Concerns and reactions
While the government maintains that the temporary school closure is essential, some parents and education groups have expressed concern about the potential loss of learning days, especially for students preparing for board exams.
Education department officials have assured that compensatory classes will be arranged later to ensure the syllabus is completed on time. “We will extend school hours or use extra working days if needed. Students will not be affected,” an official said.
Teachers’ unions, however, welcomed the move, saying that the workload for data collection was becoming unmanageable alongside regular teaching duties. “We have been going door to door to collect information. The government’s decision to give us dedicated time will help ensure accuracy,” said a representative of the Karnataka State Government Employees Association.
Support for workers on the ground
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh each for three staff members who died during the course of the survey work. “Their service to the state is invaluable. The government stands with their families,” he said.
The decision to extend the school break and finish the caste survey marks another chapter in Karnataka’s continuing effort to address social disparities through data-driven governance. Once completed, the results are expected to influence key policy decisions, including potential updates to reservation quotas and resource allocation for backward communities.
As Karnataka approaches the October 18 deadline, the government remains confident that the survey will conclude successfully — providing, for the first time in nearly a decade, a detailed snapshot of the state’s social fabric.
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