Though there were no takers for engineering education offered in Kannada medium in the state last year, two private colleges have expressed interest to offer Engineering courses in Kannada medium again this year.
During the 2021-22 academic year, five private engineering colleges opted to offer the courses. But in the end, there were no students.
According to the officials of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), some students selected Kannada medium during option entry, but they all withdrew the seats by the time of admission.
This year, SJC Institute of Technology Chickballapur and BKIT, Bhalki, have got permission to offer engineering courses in Kannada medium. The SJC Institute of Technology had opted even during 2021-22.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had decided to offer Engineering education in regional medium/language as per the recommendation by National Education Policy (NEP) last year. However, the provision is only for Civil and Mechanical courses.
Though there were no colleges expressing interest during the visit of the Local Inspection Committee (LIC) from the university to the colleges, these two colleges applied and got permission from AICTE.
VTU VC Karisiddappa said, "We provided translated syllabus to the colleges last year. But, because of peer pressure, the students are not opting for the course in Kannada medium."
According to the university, offering higher education in Kannada will be a relief for students who have studied in Kannada medium up to class 10, shifted to English medium in PUC and are struggling to cope with it.
The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has advised the state government and private companies to provide job reservations for Kannada medium students to encourage them to take up the course.
Published 03 August 2022, 16:26 IST