Karnataka   

Voluntary scheme for schools violating language policy upheld

Staff Reporter

Karnataka High Court gives schools more time to file affidavits

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Monday made it clear to primary schools that they would have to impart education in Kannada or the medium of instruction for which they had been granted recognition.

The court also refused to stay the voluntary scheme formulated by the State Government on April 12, 2007 under which schools that had violated the condition on the medium of instruction were asked to pay a penalty, obtain fresh recognition and also give an undertaking to teach in the language in which they had been permitted to operate. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice B.S. Patil passed the orders on appeals by the Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association (KUSMA) and other institutions. While KUSMA had challenged the validity and legality of the scheme, the other schools had challenged the language policy of 1994 and the order of derecognition. In its lengthy dictation, the Bench extended by a week the time for schools to file affidavits undertaking to teach from this academic year in the medium of instruction for which they had obtained recognition. It also directed the State not to collect the penalty from schools under KUSMA and other institutions that wanted to opt for the scheme. It said this payment would be subject to the result of the writ petition. It also granted time till July 2 to the institutions to opt for the scheme.The Bench also upheld the interim orders of the single judge on May 29, 2007 directing the schools to file affidavits undertaking to impart education in the medium for which they had been granted recognition.

The Bench noted that the Government had announced the scheme on April 12, 2007 for schools that had violated the undertaking given to it. However, of the 7,215 schools that had obtained permission to teach in Kannada, 2,698 were found to have violated the condition of recognition by teaching in English.

It said the Government had withdrawn the recognition of 2,215 schools and action against the rest. The Government, it said, took note of the hardship that would be caused to three lakh students and more than 12,000 teachers if the schools were derecognised.

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