In another setback to the State government, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the authorities to process an application seeking recognition as an English-medium school, from classes one to five, with retrospective effect from the year in which an educational institution had first applied for it. Justice A.S. Bopanna passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by Kannada Nuthana Vidya Samsthe, Tarikere in Chikkamagaluru district.
The court made it clear that the government should process the application for grant of recognition for English-medium school from the academic year 2009–10 as the petitioner-institute had filed its first application for English medium in October 2008.
In six weeks
Also, the court directed the government to process application for English medium within six weeks based on the infrastructure required in the year the institution had applied for recognition.
Initially, the government refused to grant permission citing that the State’s language policy does not permit English-medium school. The permission was denied in 2009 again even after the High Court’s Full Bench verdict of quashing the language policy.
Later, the petitioner-school approached the High Court against denial of recognition and the court issued specific direction to the State to consider the plea for recognition. The authorities, however, failed to adhere to the direction for the reason that appeal against the High Court’s verdict was pending in the Supreme Court. However, the school was operating in terms of the apex court’s direction to the State not to close down “unrecognised English-medium schools” till the appeal was decided.
The government, in June this year, again refused to consider the plea even though the apex court in May declared the State’s language policy as “unconstitutional”.
