Knowledge panel favours Kannada as medium of instruction till class 4

Commission says English could be taught as the second language; endorses State govt.’s stand

Endorsing the State government’s stand on the medium of instruction in primacy school education, Karnataka Knowledge Commission (KKC) has recommended Kannada, the regional language, as the medium of instruction in all schools up to class 4, with English taught as the second language.

Report submitted

In a 92-page report on ‘Karnataka State Education Policy’ submitted to the government, KKC chairman K. Kasturirangan said, “As Kannada is the mother tongue of the majority population in the State and is also the State language, it would be most practical to have Kannada as the medium of instruction in all schools up to class 4.”

The KKC said that from class 5 onwards, students must have the option to continue their education either in Kannada or in English as the medium of instruction.

“There is a strong scientific evidence to support the fact that children learn best when the medium of instruction is the mother tongue of the child,” he said.

Three-language formula

However, acknowledging that “future citizens need to be proficient in many languages”, the KKC said the CBSE model for language teaching also adopts multilingual approach.

From class 5 to 7, it suggested three-language formula — with medium of instruction and two additional languages as per the choice of student.