The Karnataka Unaided School Management’s Association (KUSMA) has threatened to move a contempt plea against the government if the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) does not consider applications to register schools as ‘English-medium’ by the end of the month. K.V. Dhananjay, advocate for KUSMA, on Wednesday said several schools had submitted the applications last month.
The move followed the Supreme Court rejecting the State’s position that mother tongue/regional language should be the compulsory medium of instruction at the primary level. With the State government’s 1994 language policy stuck in courts for two decades, many State board schools are registered as Kannada-medium schools, but impart lessons in English. Mr. Dhananjay said that the government’s option of going in for a review petition too has gone in vain and the department is bound to consider the requests of the schools. He further alleged that several BEOs claim that they have not got the copy of the SC judgment or are awaiting instructions from higher officials.