While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah bats for the regional language as the medium of instruction in primary classes, the ground reality tells a different story. The State government has done little to ensure Kannada remains in classrooms as a language.
A large number of private schools, particularly those affiliated to CBSE and CISCE do not have Kannada as a language. Little effort has been made by the State government to protect Kannada after it lost a legal battle in May 2014 to make the regional language or mother tongue the medium of instruction in lower primary classes.
After losing the two-decade old legal battle, the State legislature as a “last resort” unanimously passed the Kannada Language Learning Bill, 2015. It mandated that private schools teach Kannada as a language. This got the Governor’s nod earlier this year, but the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has not issued any orders to schools nor have they started cracking down on those that do not teach Kannada as a language.
“My child’s school in north Bengaluru offers Kannada as an option from class five. A majority of the children in the school cannot even read Kannada letters,” a parent said. According to the Act, private schools should teach Kannada as the first or second language from classes one to 10. It even states that Kannada should be introduced as one of the compulsory languages in all classes in a phased manner from 2015-16. However, most private schools follow the three language policy, which does not include Kannada.
A Block Education Officer said they are waiting for the government to notify the rules so they can impose penalty on private schools that did not offer Kannada as the first or second language.
Though the Kannada Language Learning Bill, 2015, got the Governor’s nod earlier this year, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has not issued any orders to schools
