Mangaluru: Jnanadeepa, an initiative under the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), has appointed 1,074 honorary teachers to rural schools across Karnataka for the academic year 2025-26 to tackle the severe shortage of teachers.SKDRDP executive director Anil Kumar SS said the guest teachers were appointed under the guidance of Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade. Of the schools covered, 275 are single-teacher institutions.He noted that the Jnanadeepa Education Programme, launched three decades ago, has been working to improve education levels in rural schools by addressing teacher shortages and supporting basic infrastructure. Volunteer teachers appointed through the programme ensure that children in schools with poor teacher-student ratios do not miss out on education. SKDRDP has allocated Rs 29 crore towards the monthly honorarium for these teachers.In addition, the project supports rural schools with infrastructure such as classrooms, toilets, playgrounds, electrification, drinking water facilities, and repair of buildings, desks, and benches. So far, assistance worth Rs 73.1 crore has been provided. Efforts are also being made to bring back school dropouts aged 6-14 by encouraging re-enrolment through Jnanadeepa teachers, he added.
