Bill seeking mandatory Kannada language in classes 1 to 10 tabled

A bill that seeks to make Kannada language a mandatory subject in classes 1 to 10 in all schools in the State was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

 The Kannada Language Learning Bill-2015 provides for teaching Kannada as a compulsory subject in all schools in the State, including private institutions, as a first or a second language. However, the legislation is unlikely to cover schools affiliated to the CBSE and ICSE, and a mention of this will be made when the rules will be framed, sources said.

At present there is no law that stipulated that learning Kannada mandatory as a subject. It is optional. As per the provisions of the bill, it is the policy of the State government that all students studying in classes 1 to 10 be taught Kannada as a compulsory language.

The policy would be implemented in a phased manner from class 1 starting for the academic year 2015-16. In other words,  Kannada will be taught as a mandatory subject for class 1 students from academic year 2015-16, for class 1 and class 2 students in  academic year 2016-17 and will be extended to class 10, in a like manner.

The bill prescribes that every school in the State shall follow textbooks prescribed by the State government for teaching Kannada as a first language or second language, compulsorily. A student who has not opted his for his mothertongue (other than Kannada) as a first or second language, may study his mothertongue as the third language, the bill states.

The bill also provides for appointing an officer not below the rank of Deputy Director
of Public Instruction, as a competent authority to implement the policy decision of the State.The bill was tabled in the Legislative Assembly by Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education Kimmane Ratnakar.