Urging the State government to drop its move to introduce English as a medium of instruction in 1,000 government schools from the academic year 2019-20, the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) on Tuesday cautioned of a Statewide agitation if the government failed to withdraw its decision.
At a meeting of writers, thinkers, educationalists, legal experts, Kannada activists, and heads of academies and authorities, convened by the KSP, the decision was condemned. They demanded that the government make its stand clear during the ongoing winter session in Belagavi.
However, the KSP said at the meeting that it was not opposed to the idea of teaching English as a language even in Kannada-medium schools. Its opposition was to the imposition of English as the medium of instruction. It was also decided that a delegation would go to the Chief Minister to communicate this resolution.
Writers such as Jnanpith recipient Chandrashekar Kambar, S.L. Bhyrappa, Devanur Mahadeva, Chandrashekhar Patil, Siddalingaiah, Baragur Ramachandrappa, Rajya Sabha member L. Hanumanthaiah, Karnataka Sahitya Academy president Aravind Malagatti, Kannada Development Authority chief S.G. Siddaramaiah, and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president T.A. Narayana Gowda attended the meeting.
“The failure of the government to take a final call on this vexed issue is likely to have an impact on the Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, scheduled in Dharwad from January 4 to 6,” said Dr. Patil.
Dr. Kambar said the focus of his presidential address at the sammelana would be government’s “pro-English-medium stand”.
