Government-run primary schools within Chamarajanagar City Municipal Council limits are witnessing a worrying decline in student enrolment for the 2025-26 academic year. Nearly a dozen such institutions in the district headquarters are at risk of shutting down due to drastically low admissions.

While government residential schools such as Adarsha, Karnataka Public Schools, and Morarji Desai Residential Schools continue to attract students—thanks to improved standards and facilities—the same cannot be said for urban government schools. Each year, more parents from Chamarajanagar and surrounding villages are opting to send their children to English-medium private institutions, drawn by promises of better infrastructure, transport facilities, and perceived superior education.

This shift has also impacted anganwadi centres, many of which are now facing closure due to no new admissions, as parents favour private kindergartens. The government-aided boys’ primary school in Chamarajanagar was closed last year due to zero enrolment.

Schools located in urban neighbourhoods such as Karinanjanapura, Ramasamudra, Jalahallihundi, and Banajigara Street, as well as outskirts like Mariyala, Kalpura, and Lacchattipura, have fewer than 10 students this year.

Chamarajanagar’s Deputy Director of Public Instruction, Ramachandra Raje Urs, acknowledged the ongoing fall in enrolment, despite the department’s attempts to address it. Social activist Mahadeva Shetty suggested partnering with private trusts to revive struggling schools—citing the PWD Colony School’s turnaround after such intervention.