The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Government in a fix over medium of instruction

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government in a fix over medium of instruction

Bageshree S.

High Court has set a deadline to comply with its order on the language policy

Bangalore: The Karnataka Government finds itself in a Catch-22 situation with the High Court setting a four-day deadline to comply with its one-year-old order on the language policy and permit English-medium schools to function.

The government, on the one hand, can no longer afford to postpone taking a decision on the contentious issue. On the other, it cannot go back on its rhetoric of loyalty to the State language, given the emotional strings attached to it and its larger political ramifications.

Moving SC

At best, the government can hope to convince the Supreme Court to speed up matters on the pending Special Leave Petition filed by it challenging the Full Bench order of the High Court passed on July 2, 2008. The apex court has so far not granted a stay on the High Court verdict stating that the choice on medium should be left to the parents and the government cannot impose it.

If this effort does not fructify, the government will have to go ahead and recognise 5,000-odd English-medium schools which were derecognised in 2006 for running English-medium classes without permission. Lawyers arguing the cases of the schools also fear that the government might, yet again, come up with what they describe as a “delaying tactic” and may even request that the issue be moved to another court.

The Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri has only said that a decision on the State’s next step will be taken at a high-level meeting of Ministers, Education Department officials and the Chief Minister on Monday. “All options are open,” he cryptically told The Hindu, without elaborating on what options were before it. He reiterated that the government is “committed” to its language policy.

Council for Karnataka Unaided School Managements Association, K.V. Dhananjay, exuded confidence and said the association is “fully prepared” even if the Karnataka Government moves the Supreme Court on Monday.

History of policy

Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar Patil, former president of Kannada Development Authority and Kannada Sahitya Parishat, pointed out that the historical circumstances under which Karnataka came up with its language policy cannot be overlooked. “The State’s policy was based on the 1994 Supreme Court verdict passed by Justice Rama Jois which categorically said that primary education should be in the mother tongue or local language,” he said.

This “confused situation” can only be set right by a comprehensive, all-India policy on language, and the State Government should bide time till then. “Similar confusions prevail in other States as well,” he said. Unmindful of the long-drawn out litigation process, educational institutions, which are well into the academic year, have already made admissions and have begun classes in English medium taking the High Court judgement last year as the only binding factor, unmindful of the Education Department’s refusal to give official endorsements.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka