Speaking to media persons here on Sunday, Kageri, who was here to participate in the ‘Havyaka Habba’, stated that he had urged Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal to prevail upon the Union government to interfere in the disputed issue of medium of instruction in schools, and to formulate a uniform policy on education in mother tongue applicable for all States.
He said, the Centre should inform the Supreme Court about its stand and the new policy, as the case related to the medium of instruction was before the court.
The Centre was spending crores of rupees for setting up institutes to protect regional languages, but education in mother tongue would be more effective in protecting and promoting regional languages, he opined.
The Supreme Court would hear the case in the last week of August, and the State government had a very clear stand about the language policy. It had made all preparations to present its views before the court, and attempts would be made to convince the court about its stand.
“In a Democracy, the decision of the Judiciary had to be followed,” he said.
Medium of instruction
“I do not think there is a need to bring any amendment to the Constitution in this regard, as the Supreme Court has already said that parents should have the option of choosing the medium of instruction for their children. Intellectuals, linguists, litterateurs, and others have opined that the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction.
“We are waiting for the Compulsory Education Act, which is being discussed in the Parliament. We hope that the points mentioned in the reports sent by the State Government are also included in the new act,” he said.
The Government was also giving importance to English, and it was being taught from the first standard itself. But, private schools were using English as a commodity and had commercialised it, he added.
Schools who had availed permission for imparting education in Kannada medium, but violated the condition later, were being punished, and some of them were converted into Kannada medium school. Now, the case is before the court, and its order had to be respected, Kageri noted.
Answering to a query, the minister clarified that no complaint about any irregularity in the mid-day meal scheme had been received so far, and a Legislative Committee had been formed to inquire about the allegations made against the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
