Kannada medium crisis: Students on border make Marathi shift

At a time when the Karnataka government is “seriously considering” laying claim to Jath taluk in Maharashtra, high school students in villages bordering Maharashtra are unable to pursue education in Kannada medium.

At least 28 border villages in Belagavi and Chikkodi educational districts do not have Kannada medium high schools. As a result, parents are forced to admit their wards to Marathi medium schools which are at a closer distance compared to Kannada medium schools.

For instance, in the western part of Belagavi taluk that shares border with Maharashtra, there is demand for Kannada medium high schools at Hindalga, Mannur, Gojaga, Uchgaon, Bekkinkere and Kudremani. Department of Public Instructions officials said Government Kannada Primary School at Hindalga has about 180 students while the one at Mannur has 110, Bekkinkere 122, Uchgaon 112 and Kudremani 63 students.

People from different linguistic communities, including Marathi-speaking ones, want their children to study in Kannada schools for better career prospects. But they are forced to send them to high schools that are far away.

“After completing primary education in the village, our children have to travel up to 20 km to high school, passing through Maharashtra villages,” said Parashuram Turkewadikar, Government Kannada Primary School, Kudremani SDMC chairman.

In recent years, Kannada medium primary schools, both government and private, have witnessed higher enrolment, say block education officers. However, unavailability of government high schools is a concern.

There have been demands to upgrade higher primary schools into high schools to ensure that children from border areas get education in Kannada, but government norms and political apathy have become hurdles.

Belagavi District Kannada Organisations Action Committee president Ashok Chandargi said, “Elected representatives have not bothered to get Kannada medium high schools.”

In 1999, the Chandargi Committee, headed by him, submitted its report to the government that 28 villages in Belagavi and Khanapur taluks do not have Kannada medium schools. As a result, primary schools were established in these villages.

“We succeeded in getting one Kannada medium high school in 2006 at Vadgaon as dropouts in Vadgaon and Khasbag suburb had increased,” Chandargi said.

Basavaraj Nalatwad, Deputy Director of Public Instructions, Belagavi, said they are sending recommendations for high schools as per the needs and demands of people. There are various parameters to approve high schools. Recently, six government primary schools were upgraded to high schools, of which four are in Belagavi taluk and one in Kittur.

Mohankumar Hanchate, DDPI, Chikkodi, said, “We need more Kannada medium high schools in border areas to ensure that there are no dropouts after the seventh standard. Due to the unavailability of Kannada medium high schools, parents from villages in border areas in Athani, Nippani and Hukkeri are admitting their children in Marathi medium. Recently, seven primary schools were upgraded into high schools at Gokak, Mudalagi, Nippani and Hukkeri taluks.”

Parameters

More than 90 primary schools have been upgraded to high schools across Karnataka. There are several parameters to consider before such upgradation, explains Vishal R, Commissioner of Public Instruction. "We need to see if there are sufficient students. Unlike primary school, to set up a high school, a higher number of teachers are required. We need to also see if there are other schools in a 5-km radius," he explained. These factors, along with the financial implications, need to be considered, he said.

"This is a problem across all border villages of Karnataka," he said.