<div dir="ltr"><h1>2,000 schools plan to be English medium</h1>
<div class="">Shruthi H M, Bengaluru, Nov 30, 2014, DHNS :</div>
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<img class="" src="http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2014/12/01/444877_thump.gif" alt="Sunday's emergency meeting was called following an interim High Court order on November 28 directing the State government to accept applications for registration till December 5. DH file photo" title="Sunday's emergency meeting was called following an interim High Court order on November 28 directing the State government to accept applications for registration till December 5. DH file photo" border="0">
<p><strong>More than 2,000 schools across the State plan
to apply for English-medium registration this year, but the government
is yet to take a decision on its language policy. <br></strong><br>At
an emergency meeting of the Associated Managements of English Medium
Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) on Sunday, member institutions decided to
submit applications for English-medium authorisation. The association
has about 400 schools under it. <br><br>Further, there are about 800
schools under the Karnataka Federation for Independent Schools
Management, which will also apply for authorisation. <br><br>The
Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association (KUSMA), which has more
than 1,400 schools under its ambit, has already submitted applications
for English-medium registration. <br><br>Sunday's emergency meeting was
called following an interim High Court order on November 28 directing
the State government to accept applications for registration till
December 5. <br><br>As per the original schedule of the Department of
Public Instructions (DPI), the last date for application (for
permissions for 2015-16) was October 31. However, the DPI issued a
circular on November 11 conveying a revision in registration fees for
schools. <br><br>The KAMS had challenged this circular on two grounds:
First, it made no mention of registration for English-medium for classes
I-V and, secondly, it spoke of additional infrastructure, which the
schools found impractical.<br><br>The interim order directs the
government not to insist upon other requirements (infrastructure) in the
notification and to accept applications of schools as per the requisite
fee (based on the November 11 notification). <br><br>Speaking to
Deccan Herald, KAMS secretary Shashi Kumar said, “Since our prayer was
also to do with the medium of instruction, we can now resubmit
applications for English medium by paying the fees (specified for
classes I-V, Kannada medium) mentioned in the notification.â€Â <br><br>School
managements have also drawn strength to ask for English-medium
registration from the May 2014 Supreme Court verdict. The court had held
that the government could not impose Kannada as a medium of instruction
on schools in the State. <br><br>The apex court had asked the government not to close down English-medium schools in 2009 as well. <br><br>Besides,
“Schools under KUSMA have been conducting English-medium classes
based on a protective order from the High Court (in July 2009). This
being the case, the schools have now only sought to officially register
for English medium,†said K V Dhananjaya, advocate for KUSMA. <br><br>Kumar
had written to the DPI in September asking them to uphold the Supreme
Court verdict and consider permitting English-medium schools, but there
was no response from the government. <br><br>The fate of these
applications rests on the State government's decision on the language
policy, said Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammed Mohsin. “I
cannot comment on the status of the applications as it pertains to a
language policy and the State government has to take a call on it,†he
said.</p><p><a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/444877/2000-schools-plan-english-medium.html">http://www.deccanherald.com/content/444877/2000-schools-plan-english-medium.html</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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