The Karnataka government's bold decision to offer engineering education in Kannada medium has failed to take off, with not a single student opting to study courses in the vernacular in the highly competitive field.
Initially, three students had opted to pursue engineering in Kannada medium, but sources at the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) told DH that they backed out, apprehensive over their career prospects.
The government had reserved 90 seats at three colleges to offer technical courses in Kannada: SJICT college in Chikkaballapura, MIT in Mysuru and BKIT in Bhalki of Bidar district.
But all of them reported 'zero admissions' on Dec 31, 2021 - the last date for admission.
Ramya S, Executive Director of KEA, said "during the first round of seat allotment, three students had opted to study the course in Kannada medium". "But none of them have reported to the colleges," she added.
The 90 seats will remain vacant for the entire academic year as the medium cannot be changed even if the government considers reallocating these seats.
The Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) had also prepared the curriculum in Kannada and had trained faculties to teach engineering in Kannada.
However, students developed cold feet and chose to opt out at the last minute, saying they were worried about lack of job opportunities in the future.
"I opted for Kannada medium, but later I became worried about job opportunities and changed to English medium," one of the students told DH.
Students were worried that the move could even hamper their dream of flying to other countries for higher education or for job purposes.
Prof GT Raju, principal, SJCIT Chikkaballapura, said, "Two students were allotted seats in our college but they cancelled the seats later."
Raju said the situation can change if the state government promotes Kannada medium education by providing reservations in government recruitment.
"If it is done, we will definitely get good admissions next year," he said.
Watch the latest DH videos here:
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks