Karnataka expands partnership with British Council to strengthen Panchayat Arivu Kendras

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Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department has expanded its concern with the British Council to fortify English connection learning, room services, and cognition entree successful agrarian areas done the State’s Gram Panchayat Arivu Kendras (Knowledge Centres).

Under this expanded collaboration, the fig of British Council Library Corners successful Gram Panchayat Arivu Kendras volition beryllium accrued from 10 to 70, with 60 further centers being established crossed the state. As portion of the initiative, the British Council volition supply 3,000 children’s English books and widen escaped entree to its integer room resources, enabling agrarian readers to link with planetary cognition platforms and curated English learning content.

The expanded concern statement was signed connected Thursday nether the chairmanship of RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge and Deputy High Commissioner Chandru Iyyar, betwixt Karnataka Panchayat Raj Commissioner Dr. Arundhathi Chandrasekhar and British Council’s South India Director Janaka Pushpanathan.

Speaking connected the occasion, Mr. Priyank Kharge highlighted the value of strengthening agrarian cognition infrastructure and expanding entree to English connection learning for young radical crossed the state. He said, “Gram panchayat libraries person evolved into vibrant Arivu Kendras — centres of learning, curiosity, and cognition for agrarian communities crossed Karnataka. During the pandemic, these libraries became captious learning spaces for children, and by offering escaped rank to those successful the property radical of 6 to 18 years we person brought implicit 5 cardinal young readers into this ecosystem”.

“For galore young radical successful agrarian Karnataka, English connection skills are an important pathway to higher education, employability, and societal mobility. Our concern with the British Council helps bring high-quality English learning resources, books, and integer contented person to these learners,” helium said.

The Minister emphasised that Karnataka is gathering 1 of the largest agrarian cognition networks successful the state done its gram panchayat libraries. Currently, 5,884 Gram Panchayat Arivu Kendras are functioning crossed agrarian Karnataka, and plans are underway to found astir 6,600 further colony libraries, creating a web of implicit 12,000 agrarian libraries crossed the state, helium pointed out.

These centers are equipped with computers and net connectivity, enabling entree to integer learning resources, online grooming sessions, and enrichment programs that tin scope children and learners crossed thousands of villages simultaneously. The State authorities transferred the absorption of gram panchayat libraries from the Department of Public Libraries to the gram panchayats nether the RDPR Department since March 1, 2019. Since then, these libraries person been upgraded arsenic Arivu Kendras, designed arsenic assemblage cognition hubs offering services specified arsenic integer learning resources, vocation guidance systems, law literacy initiatives, assistive technologies for persons with disabilities, and opportunities for cognition sharing by skilled assets persons.

More than 5 cardinal children are registered members of Gram Panchayat Arivu Kendras, wherever regular activities are organised to enactment children’s learning and property development.

Published - March 12, 2026 09:43 p.m. IST

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