<p>Bengaluru: The recently announced SSLC exam-1 results, which had a record pass percentage, have raised concerns over the number of students failing in<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/kannada"> Kannada</a> language.</p>.<p>As per data from the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB), this year, nearly 19,000 students failed in Kannada language.</p>.<p>This includes 18,678 who had taken Kannada as first language and 289 as third language. </p>.<p>On the other hand, a total of 9,501 students failed in Hindi - 20 in first language and 9,481 in third language. </p>.10-minute Kannada newspaper reading must in schools.<p>Among all nine languages offered as first language, the number of students failing in Kannada is the highest. </p>.<p>The pass percentage of those who studied English as first language is 98.38, 98.15 in Hindi, 97.16 in Marathi, 99.99 in Sanskrit, 100 in Tamil and Telugu and 98.44% in Urdu. The figure for Kannada as first language is 96.92.</p>.<p>Accepting the fact that results in first language Kannada is low, officials say it has improved from previous year.</p>.<p>“The number of students failing in first language Kannada was around 90,000 last year. This time, we have seen improvement,” said an official of the school education and literacy department.</p>.<p>Stakeholders, including private school management representatives, have now demanded that the maximum marks for first language be reduced from 125 to 100.</p>.<p>“This is one of our long-pending demands. Reducing marks for first language from 125 to 100 will lead to a big difference in results. It will encourage children to study with interest, “ said D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the associated managements of primary and secondary schools in Karnataka. </p>.<p>Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa said the idea behind shifting from marks to grades for third language subjects was to make it easy for students to learn first language Kannada.</p>.<p>“Our intention was to give importance to learning Kannada, by reducing pressure on children vis-a-vis the third language. Following the court order, we withdrew the decision, but in the interest of Kannada, we will re-introduce it,” the minister said.</p>.<p>Experts say there is a need to bring in a system to teach Kannada in a simple manner.</p>.<p>“The Sanskrit textbooks, for example, are not more than 25 pages, whereas those of Kannada are 100 plus pages. There is a need to simplify Kannada textbooks,” said Purushotham Bilimale, chairperson of Kannada Development Authority (KDA). </p>.<p>He said the teachers appointed to teach Kannada need to be trained properly and the textbooks must be revised.</p>.<p>“Coordination between experts who frame the textbooks at different levels is very important. There is no need to teach grammar, old Kannada at primary and secondary level. The department must analyse how much Kannada is needed for our schoolchildren and what should be taught at what age, in a simple way,” Bilimale said. </p>.<p>He said the government must take this seriously, to save and protect Kannada. </p>.II PU exams: English medium pass rate better than Kannada.<p>“What is the need to teach schoolchildren Halegannada (old Kannada)? If they are interested, they will study Kannada literature in higher education. At school level, the focus should be on teaching the language. The toughness level of Kannada textbooks in high school is high. The textbooks have 50& to 60% of Halegannada, which mainly covers literature and grammar. Modern Kannada is restricted to 20% to 30%. Use of colloquial Kannada more in textbooks will help students learn it easily,” said Manjunath, Kannada teacher and former president of Karnataka high school assistant masters’ association. </p>.<p>The KDA has conducted a study, in which it identified reasons for students failing more in Kannada language. It has submitted recommendations to Minister Madhu Bangarappa, on strengthening the teaching of the language.</p>.<p>According to the study report, the number of students choosing English as first language over Kannada has increased.</p>.<p>In 2016, as much as 10.61% students had taken English as first language. The same increased to 14.62% in 2025.</p>.<p>“Students failing in Kannada in SSLC are not just numbers. It indicates the future threat to Kannada,” reads the report.</p>.<p>The report mentions shortage of teachers in schools as one of the reasons for the trend.</p>.<p>Even the number of students scoring 125/125 in first language Kannada is less compared to those scoring 100/100 in third language Hindi.</p>.<p>This year, 31,255 students scored 100/100 in third language Hindi. For, first language Kannada, this number is 10,341. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: The recently announced SSLC exam-1 results, which had a record pass percentage, have raised concerns over the number of students failing in<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/kannada"> Kannada</a> language.</p>.<p>As per data from the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB), this year, nearly 19,000 students failed in Kannada language.</p>.<p>This includes 18,678 who had taken Kannada as first language and 289 as third language. </p>.<p>On the other hand, a total of 9,501 students failed in Hindi - 20 in first language and 9,481 in third language. </p>.10-minute Kannada newspaper reading must in schools.<p>Among all nine languages offered as first language, the number of students failing in Kannada is the highest. </p>.<p>The pass percentage of those who studied English as first language is 98.38, 98.15 in Hindi, 97.16 in Marathi, 99.99 in Sanskrit, 100 in Tamil and Telugu and 98.44% in Urdu. The figure for Kannada as first language is 96.92.</p>.<p>Accepting the fact that results in first language Kannada is low, officials say it has improved from previous year.</p>.<p>“The number of students failing in first language Kannada was around 90,000 last year. This time, we have seen improvement,” said an official of the school education and literacy department.</p>.<p>Stakeholders, including private school management representatives, have now demanded that the maximum marks for first language be reduced from 125 to 100.</p>.<p>“This is one of our long-pending demands. Reducing marks for first language from 125 to 100 will lead to a big difference in results. It will encourage children to study with interest, “ said D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the associated managements of primary and secondary schools in Karnataka. </p>.<p>Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa said the idea behind shifting from marks to grades for third language subjects was to make it easy for students to learn first language Kannada.</p>.<p>“Our intention was to give importance to learning Kannada, by reducing pressure on children vis-a-vis the third language. Following the court order, we withdrew the decision, but in the interest of Kannada, we will re-introduce it,” the minister said.</p>.<p>Experts say there is a need to bring in a system to teach Kannada in a simple manner.</p>.<p>“The Sanskrit textbooks, for example, are not more than 25 pages, whereas those of Kannada are 100 plus pages. There is a need to simplify Kannada textbooks,” said Purushotham Bilimale, chairperson of Kannada Development Authority (KDA). </p>.<p>He said the teachers appointed to teach Kannada need to be trained properly and the textbooks must be revised.</p>.<p>“Coordination between experts who frame the textbooks at different levels is very important. There is no need to teach grammar, old Kannada at primary and secondary level. The department must analyse how much Kannada is needed for our schoolchildren and what should be taught at what age, in a simple way,” Bilimale said. </p>.<p>He said the government must take this seriously, to save and protect Kannada. </p>.II PU exams: English medium pass rate better than Kannada.<p>“What is the need to teach schoolchildren Halegannada (old Kannada)? If they are interested, they will study Kannada literature in higher education. At school level, the focus should be on teaching the language. The toughness level of Kannada textbooks in high school is high. The textbooks have 50& to 60% of Halegannada, which mainly covers literature and grammar. Modern Kannada is restricted to 20% to 30%. Use of colloquial Kannada more in textbooks will help students learn it easily,” said Manjunath, Kannada teacher and former president of Karnataka high school assistant masters’ association. </p>.<p>The KDA has conducted a study, in which it identified reasons for students failing more in Kannada language. It has submitted recommendations to Minister Madhu Bangarappa, on strengthening the teaching of the language.</p>.<p>According to the study report, the number of students choosing English as first language over Kannada has increased.</p>.<p>In 2016, as much as 10.61% students had taken English as first language. The same increased to 14.62% in 2025.</p>.<p>“Students failing in Kannada in SSLC are not just numbers. It indicates the future threat to Kannada,” reads the report.</p>.<p>The report mentions shortage of teachers in schools as one of the reasons for the trend.</p>.<p>Even the number of students scoring 125/125 in first language Kannada is less compared to those scoring 100/100 in third language Hindi.</p>.<p>This year, 31,255 students scored 100/100 in third language Hindi. For, first language Kannada, this number is 10,341. </p>