The Karnataka government has revealed that 18,791 government schools across the state do not have land records in the name of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL). This includes 17,356 primary schools and 1,435 high schools. To address this, the government is preparing "The Karnataka Protection of Government School/Colleges Properties Bill 2025" to officially register these properties under the DSEL. With a total of 48,436 government schools in Karnataka, many have land allotted by the government or donors. However, without proper registration or revenue documents like khata extracts, many school lands have been encroached upon, causing legal cases and hampering development projects such as building construction. Since 2022-23, the DSEL has run an annual campaign to protect school properties. Deputy Commissioners have been tasked with collecting land records and registering schools in their districts. So far, records exist for only 28,776 schools. The highest number of pending registrations are in Shivamogga (1,192), Mandya (1,124), Tumakuru (1,063), Kalaburagi (958), and Bengaluru South (877). Umesh G. Gangavadi, State president of the School Development and Monitoring Committee, said, "Most of the properties of government schools have been encroached upon due to the neglect of previous governments. Many cases are pending in court. A few years ago, there was an incident in Kolar where some private individuals took possession of a government school and demolished it on the orders of the court. If there are no records for the properties, it is also difficult to carry out development work in such schools. The government should complete the pending property registration of government schools on a war footing. A request will be made to the Chief Minister in this regard." School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa confirmed the bill is under review to protect these school properties and improve overall management.