After fighting the State government on the medium of instruction issue, 2,000 odd  private Kannada medium schools find themselves in a crisis yet again. They are simply not able to get government textbooks for Class I students.
Though some schools did manage to get first language Kannada textbooks, it is the shortage of Environmental Science and Mathematics textbooks that has caused hardship to these schools.
According to these schools, the reason for shortage of textbooks is delay in switching over to Kannada medium.
“Most schools re-opened on June 1. As we were derecognised, we continued to teach in English medium. When the verdict went against us, we  switched over to Kannada medium. This transition led to unanticipated shortage of textbooks,’’ they said.
These schools switched over to Kannada medium last month resulting in a dearth of textbooks. The scarcity is so severe these schools are exploring various options to tide over the crisis.
Borrowed
Sri Raghavendra Vidya Samstha at Yelchanahalli, for instance, borrowed textbooks, including the first language Kannada, from students of Class 2 and 3.
 “There are 35 students in Class 1 and there is a shortage of over 20 textbooks in Environmental Science and Mathematics. Added to this, there is an also a dearth of textbooks for first language Kannada,'' Parvathi Kumar, a school principal said.
Some of the borrowed textbooks are old and printed in 2005. “Since the syllabus has not been revised for the last two years, we decided to use these textbooks. We will continue to teach from the same books till we get new ones,'' the principal said.
Taking notes
Without textbooks, students are being made to jot down points in the class and asked to refer to them later. A teacher's copy would be given to students on request.
The schools did enquire at various bookstores, including those on Avenue Road, Gandhi Bazar and surrounding areas of Yelchanahalli. but the response received from all these places were same -”No stock, no supply.''
On the other hand, schools like New Indian Public School in Vijayanagar managed to source some textbooks from parts of the State. “We have 84 students studying in class I and a few students have either Mathematics or Environmental Science textbooks.
Therefore, two students with Environmental Science and Mathematics subjects are grouped together so that they get an opportunity to read the lessons, on rotation basis,'' M Senguttuvan, one of the school principals said. Further, he added: “We are willing to pay for the textbooks. Yet we are not able to get them.”
When Deccan Herald enquired in some of the book stores, they admitted there is a shortage of textbooks for Environmental Science.
Poor quality
However, in some places Mathematics textbooks are available but the quality of textbooks is not up to the mark.
“We have sold all textbooks for Class I this time unlike last year. We don’t know the reason, how all the books are sold. We get the books from the publishers. We have to get more supply of books for Environmental Science and Mathematics,’’ a book store owner said.  This was the reply received from most book stores.
When contacted, the Education Department officials said they are not aware of the shortage of textbooks for Class I.
“We have not received any such complaints.  If the schools are facing this problem, let us know how much textbooks are required, we will request publishers to print and supply them at the earliest,'' he said.