Tulu is all set to enter high schools from the next academic year as the Textbook Committee appointed by the Government has finalised the draft of the textbook for standard eight.
One of the prerequisites mandated by the Centre to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution was that it should be taught as a subject in schools. Registrar of Karnataka
Tulu Sahitya Academy Chandrahasa Rai B. told The Hindu that the textbooks for standard eight would have to be printed now. It was planned to print 8,000 textbooks initially for 2012-13.
The Government introduced Tulu as the third optional language for standard six in 2010-11.
Tulu was introduced to standard seven in the current academic year. Now the Government is on the verge of finalising the drafts of Tulu textbooks for standards 9 and 10. He said that the Government-appointed Textbook Committee, for preparing Tulu textbooks for standard 9 and 10, met at the office of the academy here for the second time on Tuesday to finalise the drafts. He said the six-member committee for standard 9 was headed by Aithappa Naik, Headmaster of the Government higher primary school, Uppinangady. Another six-member committee for standard 10 was headed by Sridhar Rai, Headmaster, Ramakrishna High School, Puttur.
G.S. Moodambadithaya, advisor, textbooks, Department of State Education Research and Training and Paltady Ramakrishna Achar, former president of the academy and reviewer of textbooks, also attended the meeting. Mr. Rai said that members of the committees discussed on additions and deletions of chapters in the drafts. Mr. Rai said the Government through the academy distributed 12,000 textbooks each for standard six and seven in the current academic year. Highest demands for textbooks were in Belthangady, Bantwal, and Puttur education blocks where the academy distributed around 2,000 textbooks each.
