In the model of the central government’s Jawahar Navodaya Schools, the state government has started residential schools for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, and students from the rural areas. Karnataka government residential schools are established with the aim of imparting quality education across the state.
In these schools, NCERT syllabus is taught in the English medium.
Karnataka Government Residential Schools – An Overview
These residential schools include:
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- Dr B R Ambedkar
- Ekalavya
- Indira Gandhi Residential schools and colleges
- Kittur Rani Chennamma
- Morarji Desai
Across the state, there are around 819 such residential educational institutions.
These residential schools started with the objective of helping children from the socially and educationally backward communities to pursue quality education in the English medium and assist them to pursue higher education without any difficulties.
These residential schools provide education to students from 6th to II PUC.
Karnataka Government Residential Schools – Admission Procedure
A student has to appear for a common entrance exam to get admission to these schools and colleges. This examination will be conducted at the Taluk level in April.
The exam will be objective type. The students must answer questions from six subjects, including Kannada, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science.
Where To Get Applications?
- Respective residential schools where a student wants to seek admission.
- Taluk level officers of the Education department
- From the website of the social welfare department – https://sw.kar.nic.in/index.aspx
- You can get more information from the official website – https://kreis.karnataka.gov.in/english
Number Of Karnataka Government Residential Schools
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| Morarji Desai PU/Residential schools | 413 |
| Kittur Rani Channanna Residential Schools | 156 |
| Ekalavya Residential schools | 10 |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee Residential Schools | 15 |
| Dr B R Ambedkar Residential Schools | 125 |
| Indira Gandhi Residential Schools | 100 |
Government Residential PU Colleges
Morarji Desai Residential PU colleges are English medium schools and have co-education. 50% of the seats will be allotted for boys and the remaining are reserved for girls.
It helps rural and poor students get technical and medical education. Each student will get free education, boarding and other facilities here.
Seats will be allotted based on merit and 3% reservation has been fixed for Physically challenged and special-category students.
Growing popularity of government-run residential schools in karnataka
Government-run residential schools in Karnataka are gaining popularity, and there has been an increase in the number of applications for seats in the 2025-2026 academic year. For the government-run co-educational residential institutions under the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS) and the minority welfare department, 2,75,610 have applied for 52,830 seats this year.
An increase in the number of applications
According to KREIS data, the number of applicants has increased by 17% compared to the previous year. As many as 2,19,186 candidates have applied for 41,500 seats in co-educational boarding schools, comparatively more than the 1.87 lakh applicants last year.
The same is true for the schools under the minority welfare department. The number of candidates who applied in 2025 – 26 was significantly 34% higher than the previous year. According to the department’s information, it has received 56,424 applications for the 11,330 seats available this year. This means that about five students are competing for a seat in this category.
Online selection process
According to Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) data, in the first two rounds of selection under KREIS, 26,182 seats have been allotted. Also, the minority department has held the selection process online for the first time. The entrance test was conducted on 27th April 2025 at 145 centers across the state. Furthermore, this year, KREIS has received an additional 34% of funding, as schools will have their own buildings.
However, owing to the increase in competition, students in the northern districts are likely to cut regular classes and attend coaching centers to crack the entrance test. Primary school students often cut regular classes for a whole day and seek training at the coaching centers. As a result, many illegal training centers are cropping up that have a tie-up with these schools.