The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday formally stayed the operation of two government orders that made learning of Kannada compulsory for undergraduate students.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi passed the order in view of the clear stand taken by the central government that there is no compulsion for regional language in higher studies in the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation by Samskrita Bharati (Karnataka) Trust, Bengaluru, which is an RSS affiliate; three other institutions associated with the promotion of Sanskrit language/study; and a petition filed by the students of Bengaluru City University.
The petitioners challenged the government order issued on August 7, 2021, insofar as it made Kannada a compulsory subject, and the September 15, 2021, order that stipulated that interstate and international undergraduate students will be compulsorily instructed in ‘functional Kannada’ in one of the semesters in the first year.
The petitioners argued that forcing students to learn Kannada in undergraduate courses is contrary to the objectives of the NEP. The state government defended the orders saying students from other states must learn functional Kannada for a year.
The situation changed after the Centre filed an affidavit on January 15, 2022, stating that NEP-2020 does not make any language compulsory.
“In view of the Centre’s stand that Kannada cannot be made a compulsory subject in higher studies for the purpose of implementing NEP-2020, we prima facie find that the impugned government order cannot be implemented. The operation of both the orders (has been) stayed till further orders,” the bench said.
‘Will submit more details’
Reacting to the HC order, Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said the government would submit more details to the court on compulsory Kannada learning at undergraduate level.
“We will discuss with legal experts and submit more details to the high court as to why Kannada learning has been made compulsory,” he said.
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