Spell out stance on English medium schools, HC tells govt

The High Court on Wednesday asked the State government to spell out immediately its stance on medium of instruction in Karnataka in view of nearing admissions to schools.

During the hearing of a petition filed by Association of Management of Government Recognised English Medium Schools in Karnataka, the High Court refused Advocate General’s request to adjourn the matter till April. Justice B V Nagarathna posted the matter for Friday.

The petitioner had challenged the notification issued by the State government on November 11, 2014, mandating Kannada as the medium of instruction for the primary schools to be started newly. The advocate representing the petitioner, G R Mohan, referred to the verdict of the Supreme Court on language policy and submitted that schools can teach in English medium as per the choice of parents. 

Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar sought the Court to adjourn the matter till April as the government would be able to form a language policy by that time, after debating the issue in the Assembly. The Court refused to grant the request.