[lg policy] Karnataka: Finally, govt. to give nod to English schools

[Harold Schiffman]

  <http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/>
  Bengaluru, March 24, 2015
 Updated: March 24, 2015 05:49 IST
Finally, govt. to give nod to English schools
 inShare

After over two decades, it appears the State government is finally “forced”
to officially grant English-medium status to existing schools that have
been imparting education in English in lower primary classes, contrary to
the State’s language policy of 1994.

In an order issued on Monday, the office of the Principal Secretary,
Department of Primary and Secondary Education, has directed department
officials to make arrangements to implement the February 27, 2015, High
Court’s interim order. This order had directed the State to grant
English-medium status to existing schools, and also process applications
for new English-medium schools by March 31.

This move comes after the Supreme Court dismissed the State’s curative
petition on the language policy — which was the last resort of the
government as it had earlier lost a legal battle over the language policy
last May — to try pushing its 1994 policy that mandated the medium of
instruction in lower primary classes should be in the child’s mother tongue
or the regional language. Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad
Mohsin said the department would “look at” the pending court cases and
petitions by school associations before granting English medium recognition.

Department officials said they would assess if the schools have basic
infrastructural facilities before granting recognition. However, another
section of officials said the government, which has convened a meeting with
academics and literary scholars on Tuesday, would take their views before
submitting their decision to the High Court of Karnataka. The department
plans to convince them of their commitment to the cause by promising to
make Kannada a compulsory language in State board schools by introducing
Kannada Language Learning Bill, 2015. Minister of State for Primary and
Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar said the department would still try to
tweak the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. It
hopes to drop the phrase “as far as practicable” on the question of
teaching in the child’s mother tongue.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/finally-govt-to-give-nod-to-english-schools/article7026233.ece


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