Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and President Droupadi Murmu
Credit: PTI Photo
Mysuru: The Mysuru-based Kannada Kriya Samiti (KKS) has welcomed the move of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, personally meeting and urging President Droupadi Murmu to approve the Free and Compulsory Education Bill (2015), which mandates education in the mother tongue from first to fifth grade.
General Secretary of KKS, Sa Ra Sudarshan, has stated in a press release issued in Mysuru recently, “Even though this Bill had been approved by the Karnataka Governor during Siddaramaiah's previous tenure as Chief Minister, the Central government officials repeatedly raised objections and sent it back. Over the past seven or eight years, the State government did not give any clarification. At one point, Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa even gave incorrect information in the Assembly, stating that the Central government has rejected this Bill.”
“The KKS, in collaboration with the Kannada Geleyara Balaga of Bengaluru and the Karnataka Vikasa Ranga, had held a press conference last year, with writers and other dignitaries, urging the government to implement the Bill by clarifying this matter to the Centre. The Kannada Development Authority had also corresponded with the Education Department regarding this,” Sudarshan recalled.
“The KKS also welcomes the Central government's order to implement mother tongue or regional language (state language) as the medium of instruction in CBSE schools from pre-primary to second grade, starting from this year. The preparation of necessary textbooks in 22 languages by the Centre for this purpose is also commendable,” he said.
The press note is signed by KKS President Ma Gu Sadanandaiah, Vice-Presidents Prakash and Manasa KR Nagar, Secretary LIC Siddappa, and Treasurer Ko Su Narasimhamurthy.