: Janaki Brahmavar, Chairperson of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, said on Friday that history was being made with 14 students starting to learn Tulu as third optional language in Udupi.
She was speaking at a function to mark the launch of Tulu text books at the Government Girls PU College Hall organised by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, here. As many as 14 students of the high school section of the Government Girls PU College have chosen Tulu as third optional language.
Ms. Brahmavar said that Tulu was the lingua franca of Tulunadu. People could express themselves better when they spoke in their mother tongue.
But it was also essential that people learnt Tulu so that they could also write in it. Those learning Tulu had the potential of emerging as writers in the language in the future. All efforts should be made to promote Tulu, she said.
Chandrahasa Rai, Registrar of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy said Tulu was being taught in 13 schools in Dakshina Kannada district for the last three years. Now it had started in Udupi city also. As many as 555 students including 14 students of Udupi and 541 students in Dakshina Kannada district were now learning Tulu. As many as 25 students were learning Tulu in classes six and seven in Dakshina Kannada district.
Tulu language could be promoted if the more school headmasters came forward. Presently, the Academy is paying honorariums to Tulu teachers.
But it was putting in efforts to provide honorariums if not salaries from the government to these teachers in the future.
If more students opted for Tulu as third optional language in class 10, it would be possible to introduce it in first year and second pre-university courses. Intense emotions or fanaticism with regard to language should be avoided, he said.
U.J. Devadiga, Veena Shetty, Mohammed Maula, Vice Presidnet of Tulukoota, Gangadhar K., Secretary, Prakash Andrade, President of School Development and Management Committee, Jagadish Kumar, college principal, Vishwanath Bairy, headmaster of high school section, were present.
