Bengaluru: The state government has again insisted on compulsory learning of Kannada in schools, irrespective of the boards they are affiliated to. With Education Minister Tanveer Sait warning schools that no objection certificates (NOCs) will not be issued to them if they do not fall in line, managements of unaided schools across the state are confused as a change in the middle of the academic year seems impractical to them.
“Such an order should come from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE),” said Mr M. Srinivasan, president, Managements of Independent CBSE Schools Association. The decision has to be reconsidered as students are getting ready for the board exams this year. “How can it be feasible for a student who is in the ninth grade and has picked another language all this while? A change now will totally affect his/her results next year no matter what,” he said.
He suggested that the state education department should look into a number of factors before taking the final decision. “Considering that Bengaluru is a metropolitan city, teaching Kannada as a functional language is practical. A conducive climate of letting students pick and learn Kannada by choice should be preferred rather than making it compulsory,” he said.
Mr D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Managements of English Medium Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), said that it is not practical to implement the decision this year. “The schools and even the education department are not prepared for such a change in a month’s time. The practical difficulties in deciding the syllabus, printing the textbooks and effective distribution should be addressed first before imposing an order. However, giving importance to the regional language is a welcome move,” he said. “At a time when even textbooks have not reached state syllabus schools, how can they implement this order, threatening ICSE and CBSE schools? This is a total political gimmick,” said Mr Kumar. At the same time, parents and teachers are worried as to how the students could cope. “My children have already chosen a foreign language this year and I don’t think it is a very good idea to change when they are making their way through the first term,” said Suchitra V., a teacher and mother of two children studying at an ICSE school in the city.
