Mandatory Kannada in Karnataka schools: New rules to be applicable from next year

Bengaluru: Since all the applications seeking approval for the establishment of new schools, affiliated with either the Central Board of Secondary Education or the ICSE, have already been processed for the current academic year, the new rule mandating teaching Kannada as either the first language or the second, for obtaining the No Objection Certificate (NOC) will be enforced only from the next academic year.   

Sources in the Department of Education said that the government had been left with no choice but to tweak rules for the issuance of the NOC to schools, since parents had challenged the state’s 2015 law mandating the teaching of Kannada in schools. Incidentally, the case is still pending in the High Court. No less than 25 parents, who approached the court in 2023, felt that the law could potentially place their children at a disadvantage.  

“Teaching Kannada as either the first or second language has been made a criterion for issuance of the NOC. The rules for issuance have been duly amended, and a gazette notification also issued to that effect,” said a senior education department official.  

On the effect the new rules will have, the official said that no new school, affiliated with a board other than the state’s, could be established without the management obtaining an NOC.

“Starting next academic year, the schools’ management must, in the NOC application form, clearly inform the government how they shall prioritise Kannada education. Otherwise, their application will be rejected. Should any school make false claims about its intentions to teach Kannada in the NOC application, and is subsequently found not fulfilling the obligation, the department will withdraw the NOC, in addition to writing to the board that the school is affiliated to.”  

General Secretary of the Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools D Shashi Kumar said that schools affiliated to the Karnataka state board will not be affected by the new rules. “But it will be a challenge for new schools affiliated to other boards. Authorities of these boards must take cognisance of this issue, and discuss the same with the education department,” he said.

The education department approved the establishment of 164 new schools, of which around 50, are affiliated to other boards, in the 2024-25 academic year.