Karnataka govt preparing to explain stand on making Kannada compulsory subject in schools

BENGALURU: The Congress government in Karnataka is stepping up efforts to explain its stand on making Kannada a compulsory subject in all schools in the state from class I and its insistence on using the language as the medium of instruction up to class V.

The state legislature recently passed two bills to the effect and the Acts are to come into force from June. With many people in the social media comparing the now-amended Maharashtra decision to screen only Marathi films during peak hours in multiplexes with making Kannada mandatory, the Karnataka government is feeling uncomfortable.

While nobody wants to comment on record, a minister told ET: "It is particularly embarrassing to be compared to what a BJP government has done." On the issue of language, the state has taken a stand similar to that of the RSS — that a child has to be taught in the mother tongue at least till class V. In Karnataka, legislators and litterateurs across party and ideological divides have insisted that the regional language needs to be supported and preserved to survive the "onslaught" of globalisation and English.

Karnataka, however, is seeking to bring about further clarity on the issue of what constitutes the mother tongue under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. "I am writing to all education ministers across the country to come together on this issue," Karnataka’s primary and secondary education minister Kimmane Ratnakar told ET. Ratnakar contended that languages of smaller communities such as Tulu and Konkani can’t be given special schools as their numbers aren’t sufficient. "We want clarity that by mother tongue, we mean the regional language. We want a constitutional amendment to this effect," he added.