KARNATAK RURAL EDUCATION SOCIETY BELGAUM

Karnataka Lingayat Education Society (KLE Society), headquartered in Belagavi, Karnataka, is a large organization running over 300 institutions in education, healthcare, and research across Karnataka and Maharashtra. Its educational institutions serve more than 130,000 students and employ over 16,000 people. The society's healthcare institutions have a combined capacity of over 4,000 beds, including 1,700 charitable beds offering subsidized services, with KLE Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Medical Research Centre known for multi-organ transplants. The society was founded by seven teachers known as the 'Saptarishis' along with several founder patrons. Its history began in 1916 with the establishment of KLE Society’s G.A. High School in Belagavi, followed by the founding of Lingaraj College in 1933, medical, engineering, dental, nursing, pharmacy, and law colleges over subsequent decades, and the establishment of KLE Academy of Higher Education & Research (KAHER) as a Deemed-to-be-University in 2006. In 2015, its engineering college was elevated to KLE Technological University. The society has international collaborations with universities such as the University of Illinois, University of Michigan, and Universiti Sains Malaysia, and counts prominent alumni including Sudha Murthy, Chandrashekhara Kambar, and several political leaders.