Single language policy for pvt, govt schools sought

The Udupi unit of Karnataka Dalita Sangharsh Samithi has demanded immediate measures for sustenance of the Kannada medium schools.

Speaking at a protest rally organised in the town to mark the 185th birth anniversary of revolutionary social reformer Savitribai Phule here recently, Dalit leader Sunder Mastar said education and infrastructural facilities should be modified at Kannada medium schools. There should be a single language policy for all the private and public schools. The government should immediately announce its education policy, he said.

He added that English should be taught as a language in the school and the mother tongue should be the medium of learning.

He laid stress on the need for restriction on the private schools for liberal administration and added that the government should take initiatives to curtail the liberal administrative policies pursued by the private educational intuitions. Sunder demanded that Savitribai Phule’s birth anniversary should be observe as the National Education Day.

He said the government should immediately fill the 34,000 vacant posts of teachers. The contract system should be stopped as insecurity will not allow teachers to put it in their efforts in the work. The fees of OBC and SC/ST students should be deposited directly to respective college and universities’ accounts and the concept of reimbursement of fees to the students should be dropped, he demanded.

He demanded a common schooling system . The education for children under three to six years of age should be made compulsory and pre-primary schools should be introduced in Kannada medium. Legal action should be taken against the schools that run English medium under the tag of Kannada medium, he urged the government.

Sunder said the 86th amendment of the Constitution should be re-amended. The attempt to commercialise education should be stopped, he said. He said there should be one teacher each for first to fourth standards and a teacher for each subject from fifth standard.