Respond to PIL on Kannada in CBSE, ISCE schools: HC to Karnataka govt

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the state government to respond to a pending PIL petition against imposing Kannada on students of CBSE/ICSE schools. 

A division bench of acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi made note of the two-year delay by the state government in filing the objections and indicated potential interim relief if the inaction continued. 

The petition has argued that the combined effect of the provisions of Karnataka Language Learning Act, Rules and NOC Rules is that schools in the state affiliated with CBSE and ICSE boards will have to teach Kannada either as a first, second or third language. 

The petition claimed that children are affected and disadvantaged by Section 3 of the Karnataka Language Learning Act, 2015, Rule 3 of the Karnataka Language Learning Rules, 2017, and rule 6(2) the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Issue of No Objection Certificate and Control) Rules, 2022. 

The petition expressed concern about CBSE and ICSE schools facing threats for non-compliance with the Karnataka Language Learning Act and Rules, with additional pressure evident through the NOC rules.