CM on Kannada as medium of learning: 'Courts not co-operating'

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raised many an eyebrow as he claimed that the judiciary was not “cooperating” with the State government to make Kannada the medium of instruction in schools.

The CM made the comments during the 68th Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The day was also celebrated as “Kannada Sambhrama” or the 50-year anniversary of the day the state was renamed as Karnataka by then CM Devaraj Urs on November 1, 1973.

During his speech, Siddaramaiah said that people of the state had been migrating from Kannada government schools to English private schools, believing that English as the medium of instruction would make children smarter and grant them more opportunities.

The CM lamented that the notion was not factual, adding that those educated in Kannada had gone on to achieve excellence in their respective fields.

He said that the State government was trying to get more parents to get their wards to study in Kannada medium.

“However, the courts aren’t cooperating with our efforts. This is because the decision of the Supreme Court was that the guardians had the right to choose the medium of instruction in the education of their wards. We have been constantly trying to change this,” Siddaramaih said.

He was referring to the 2014 Supreme Court judgement which had struck down Karnataka's plea to have Kannada as the medium of instruction in elementary education.

He added that the vow should go hand-in-hand with the improvement of Kannada medium schools. Moreover, the CM clarified that he meant Kannada medium up to 10th standard.

Only English, Hindi in competitive exams unfair: CM

Siddaramaiah also said that he opposed the conducting of competitive exams in only English and Hindi, adding that students should be able to write them in Kannada as well.

“Our MLA Rizwan Arshad has rightly said the Central government conducts the competitive exams only in Hindi and English. We need to oppose it," he said.

“The exams should be conducted in a language our children know. I will request the PM to reconsider,” he added.

New, bigger Kannada Bhavan soon

CM Siddaramaiah sprung a surprise when he announced that a new larger Kannada Bhavan would be sanctioned soon.

He made the remarks in his speech after distributing 68 Rajyotsava awards to as many people at the Ravindra Kalakshetra Building in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The CM said that he was doing so on the recommendation of Minister for Kannada, Culture and Backward Classes (BCs) Shivaraj Thangadagi.

“Since this is a small Kannada Bhavan, we shall construct a bigger Kannada Bhavan dedicated after the ‘nada devi’ (deity of the region) Bhuvaneshwari,” Siddarmaiah said.

Not satisfied with the announcement, some in the crowd demanded a new Kannada Bhavan in north Karnataka city like Hubballi.