Prabhakar Kore
The chairman of the KLE Society since 1984, who grew it from 38 to 317 institutions and a 5,500-bed hospital network, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Prabhakar Basaprabhu Kore has led one of Karnataka’s largest education and health networks for four decades. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, from Karnataka [1].
KLE Society
Kore was born on 1 August 1947 [2]. He has chaired the Karnatak Lingayat Education (KLE) Society since 1984 [2]. In that time it has grown from 38 institutions to 317, from kindergartens to doctoral programmes, with 1.45 lakh students [2]. About half its institutions are in rural areas, and his citation says he insisted on the same standard of buildings and teaching in rural and urban, Kannada- and English-medium schools alike [2].
He set up two universities, the KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research and KLE Technological University [2]. The society also runs hospitals with about 5,500 beds in all, including a cancer hospital and Ayurveda and homoeopathy hospitals, serving north Karnataka and nearby parts of Maharashtra and Goa [2].
Public life
Kore served three terms in the Rajya Sabha and earlier in the Karnataka Legislative Council [2]. He has worked in cooperative sugar and banking, and set up two community radio stations, a Krishi Vigyan Kendra and an agricultural college [2]. Before the Suvarna Soudha was built in Belagavi, the first two sessions of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly there were held on the KLE campus [2].
He has received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Prabhakar Kore — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
Last updated . First draft prepared with AI assistance; reviewed and fact-checked by a person before publishing. Report a correction