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HomeIndiaGovernanceElections are history but Karnataka is still divided over Kannada vs English...

Elections are history but Karnataka is still divided over Kannada vs English in schools

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The move to introduce 1,000 English-medium schools faces some local anger, causing confusion in language-sensitive Karnataka.

Bengaluru: The education announcements in the Karnataka budget have deepened the confusion over the status of Kannada in primary schools in a state that has been marred by language chauvinism for years.

Before demitting office, previous chief minister Siddaramaiah had announced that he would make Kannada compulsory in all schools in the state. His successor, H.D. Kumaraswamy, however, announced in the 5 July state budget the decision to set up 1,000 English-medium government schools in a bid to improve the quality of education.

Kumaraswamy now faces the wrath of some intellectuals, writers and campaigners who are seeking a rollback.

Budget move

Kumaraswamy announced that 1,000 English-medium schools would be carved out from the more than 35,000 Kannada-medium government and aided schools in the state.

N. Mahesh, primary and secondary education minister in the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government, insisted that offering English-medium education was necessary if government schools had to survive in this era. The move was his brainchild.

“I was given a proposal to introduce English as a medium of instruction in one section of the existing government schools. If you give it a thought, it would actually help attract many parents to choose government schools as we have data that they have moved away to private schools even in the rural areas,” said Mahesh, explaining his rationale.

“Look at it this way, even a daily wage earner today wants to provide English education for his child. He may not be able to afford a private school, so here is the opportunity. Many communities are disadvantaged because of this, especially the Dalits,” he said.

Siddaramaiah’s Congress, the alliance partner in the government, hasn’t made a public statement on the budget announcement yet.

Local criticism 

However, S.G. Siddaramaiah, author and chairman of Kannada Development Authority (KDA), a government body set up to promote Kannada language and culture, said that local intellectuals, writers and the KDA have managed to convince the chief minister to not act on the decision and are hopeful it will be rolled back as soon as the budget session ends.

“We told the chief minister it is important that the medium of instruction remains Kannada, but then he also assured us that he will take a decision on it soon and that English will be taught as a subject. An additional session of spoken English may also be introduced. It is the education department officials who do not have clarity,” he said.

A delegation of writers and intellectuals who had met Kumaraswamy earlier too said that closing down of Kannada medium schools would be detrimental to Kannada language. They had threatened to go to any extent to stop that from happening.

Award-winning novelist Shashi Deshpande said the move is an “insincere attempt to correct the system” taken with a political intention without addressing the real issue.

“There is a problem where many students and professionals feel handicapped as their English language skills are not up to the mark. But the bigger problem is that many of the children need to learn Kannada, understand its importance and learn it well. Language has never been given its due and such political stunts only add to the problem,” said Deshpande, adding that it’s important to have Kannada medium schools, but English should be taught as a subject.

English as medium of instruction?

The question of whether English should be a medium of instruction at the primary level of education persists.

Some educationists and linguists say that young children learn and understand concepts most effectively when taught in their mother tongue.

Since 2010-11, there has been a marked decrease in the enrollment of children in government schools in Karnataka, according to Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAAM), a Mysuru-based public policy research organisation.

In 2010, the number of enrollments for classes 1 to 7 was over 43 lakh and 22 lakh in government and private schools, respectively. However, by 2017-18, government schools saw a drop of 5 lakh.

“If you look at the data of the number of enrollments from class 1 to 10 in government schools, it has dropped by nearly 12 lakh which only goes to show that many parents prefer their children to learn English as a subject, but may be not as medium of instruction,” said R. Basavaraju, executive director, GRAAM.

Basavaraju said an ongoing survey being conducted by them has found that the number of students from Class 1 to 10 in government schools fell drastically from 54.5 lakh in 2011 to 44.5 lakh in 2017. This data indicated that there has been steep rise in the demand for private schools and for English as a language that could be used as a future tool, said Basavaraju.

He agreed that the need for English education is driving parents to shift their children to private schools.

“But I also would like to differ on one point here. The need for English is not for as a medium of instruction, but as a language is important. English as a language is definitely an enabler,” he said.

“In my personal experience, I am from a rural area and I studied in a government school, but till a certain stage I was unable to communicate in English. Initially I did face trouble, but subsequently I overcame it. So the children once given an exposure to the language early will only enhance their skill set,” he added.

Welcome move

Kumaraswamy has found crucial support after the Karnataka State Primary School Teachers Association (KSPSTA) welcomed his decision. KSPSTA president V.M. Narayana Swamy said it was their longstanding demand for a common school education policy in the state.

Speaking to the media, he said, “This announcement to begin 1,000 English-medium schools is welcome and should be implemented immediately as it would bring government schools at par with private schools.”

The move will also improve enrollment in government schools, added Swamy.

The chief minister’s decision was also welcomed by many in the corporate sector such as Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. However, Shaw ran into a controversy after she criticised those opposed to the move as a group of insignificant attention seekers.

The KDA and a group of intellectuals and writers hit back at Shaw, forcing her to tweet a detailed clarification.

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1 COMMENT

  1. CM Kumaraswamy deserves praise for this initiative. Kannadigas need look no further than their capital city to understand how English has contributed to putting Bangalore on the world map for information technology.

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