Karnataka govt makes Kannada compulsory in all schools, CBSE institutions unhappy

Starting next academic year, all school children in Karnataka irrespective of boards will have to compulsorily study Kannada. The state government, in an order, has made Kannada compulsory in all schools, private, aided or government, across boards- SSLC, ICSE, and CBSE. The move has received severe backlash from CBSE schools owners association.

According to a circular from the department of public instruction, all schools will teach Kannada as First or Second language compulsorily. Kannada will be introduced in a phased manner classwise. The language will be compulsory for class 1 and 2 students of all schools from the next academic year i.e., 2018-19. Kannada will be made a compulsory subject for higher classes in a phased manner. By the academic year 2026-27, Kannada will be compulsory for all students starting from Class 1 to class 10 across all boards.

The move comes as a part of Congress government's push for Kannada in the state ahead of the assembly elections in 2018. The move, however, has been opposed by CBSE and ICSE school management organisations. "The move is a violation of a child;s right to choose a language. The order is contradictory to a central government order that makes Hindi a compulsory subject for students in CBSE schools. It is very problematic for us to implement this since the language is a child's choice," said Srinivasan Muthusawmy, President, Managements of Independent CBSE Schools Association.

Managements of various schools are now mulling talking to the Siddaramaiah government to withdraw the order. If talks fail to bring about an amicable solution, schools managements have threatened to go to courts to seek legal recourse.

OneIndia News