Pvt schools that skipped Kannada workshop to get notice

Over 130 schools across Bengaluru affiliated to various boards will receive notice for skipping a workshop on implementing compulsory Kannada in school on Friday.

The workshop was organised by the Department of Primary and Secondary Education in association with the Kannada Development Authority (KDA).

The schools located in Bengaluru South and North education districts, affiliated to the CBSE, ICSE and IGCSE boards, were invited for the workshop. But as per the information available from the department, 30% of the schools did not turn up.

Registration data of schools present in the workshop shows that of the 510 schools, 380 have been represented by either the Kannada teacher or the principal.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar vowed to send notices to the schools absent at the workshop. “We will seek an explanation (for their absence),” he added.

The Compulsory Kannada Language Learning Act (2015) has been implemented from the 2017 academic year. Three years later, several schools failed to comply with the act.

KDA authorities cite their own records to claim that 159 schools in Bengaluru have failed to follow the Compulsory Kannada Language Learning Act.

Expressing unhappiness over the situation, Kumar said: “Some schools think that it is inferior to teach Kannada. I have observed during my visit that some schools have no Kannada teachers and there are those who are not qualified enough, and if they have everything, they have no timetable for Kannada.”

“This attitude will not be tolerated by any government. It is a law of the land and it is the responsibility of each one to follow. Now, we are requesting the schools with love, but later, we will be forced to act according to the law,” the minister said.

KDA chairperson T S Nagabharana said: “We are not the police to visit each school and insist implementation (of the act). It should come with love. Schools should compete to teach Kannada.”