Parents and children were made to live in uncertainty over their constitutional right to have primary education in English medium due to the State’s action that deprived them from exercising the right that is more essential in the era of global competition, observed the Karnataka High Court on Monday.
“This is not a case of pro-mother tongue or anti-mother tongue, nor pro-English or anti-English. It is the issue over implementation of the Supreme Court’s verdict by a constitutionally functioning State government,” said Justice Nagarathna while terming the attempts made by the State not to implement the SC’s verdict on language policy as “bordering contempt”.
Global contest
Parents and children cannot be left in the lurch and they can’t be deprived of their right to chose medium of instruction in the era of global competition where they should be able to compete with the rest of the world, and understand happenings across the globe, the High Court observed.
While desisting from deprecating the State for its conduct as a curative petition is pending before the apex court for re-considering its judgment on medium of instruction, the High Court said the actions of the State demonstrate that it was making attempts to resurrect the same policy on medium of instruction even after the policy was struck down by the Supreme Court. The High Court, however, said its order is subject to outcome of the curative petition.
The notification, issued on November 11, 2014, allowing registration of only new Kannada medium schools, apparently defies the Supreme Court verdict, the High Court observed.
On the submission of the Advocate-General that the State will evolve a new policy on medium of instruction, the court observed that “it is unable to understand what policy the State would be able to evolve even after the apex court ruled that the State can’t impose restriction on medium of instruction”. “The State cannot cultivate an attitude wherein it would have its own say, by way of an executive order, despite the verdicts of the High Court and the Supreme Court. It is unfortunate that such an attitude of the State government is apparent, particularly concerning the right of children despite verdicts of the court,” Justice Nagarathna observed.
