The Karnataka government had its language policy struck down in 2015. Snapping at the heels of the dismissed legislation came the Kannada Language Learning Act 2015, making it mandatory for private schools to teach Kannada as a second language. Learning the local tongue is crucial for a cultural connect with the land but do students actually have the time to learn another language? Students say they prefer foreign languages which bolster their dreams of studying abroad and serve as an alternative to Hindi, which is also alien to a large section of Indians. Can we have a less populist policy instead of one that is being held hostage to vote bank politics, asks Shrinivasa M.
He may be only in class IV, but Akhil Rao, studying in a prestigious CBSE school of the city, seems to knows his mind. He has sets his sights on learning German and French before he completes his high school so he can study mechanical engineering in a college in Germany. So intent is he on his goal that he is attending language classes at two private institutes presently and hopes to opt for both languages in secondary school.
The little boy represents the new age school kid, for whom the sky appears the limit in a world getting increasingly globalised. Parents of these students too seem to see the world as their stage.
Take Yesaswani Bhat, a class XII student whose dream is to study physics in a top European university. She has also joined a foreign language course in a private institute to pursue her dream. "Today most of my classmates have big ambitions of studying in the USA, UK , Germany or France,” she says.
She seems to know what she’s talking about as hundred of students have opted for foreign languages as their second language in city schools. "Many parents prefer Bengaluru over other cities because of the flexible learning atmosphere here. The state government may think only Hindi and English are taught in schools. But languages like French, Spanish have long overtaken these two languages in many,” says Mrs. Sharanya Suman, a parent.
But to the shock of these students and their ambitious parents the state has now come out with the Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015, which makes it mandatory for private schools, including those teaching a CBSE/ ICSE curriculum , to introduce Kannada as the first or second language.
The Act, passed in 2015 after the Supreme Court struck down the state language policy, could be implemented from the next academic year . “It will be implemented comprehensively from next year," said an officer of the Department of Public Instruction( DPI).
While the policy's merits are debatable, students like Yesaswani find it regressive and believe the government is out of touch with changing trends in education. “Before finalising such a policy, it should understand what the dreams and hopes of the new generation are," she protests.
Mrs. Sharanya Suman too feels the government has no clue about the changing perspective of parents, who want a lot more for their children today. “Last year an attempt was made to replace foreign languages with Sanskrit. But those who opposed that, are now supporting the imposition of another language," she regrets, echoing the views of several other parents with children in CBSE/ICSE schools, who are against having a particular language imposed on their wards.
Heads of many schools too are afraid the new legislation may be hard to implement. "Theoretically and legally, we cannot oppose this as the Supreme Court has upheld similar Acts in neighbouring states. But the issue now is how to implement this legislation as most parents want their children to learn a foreign language assuming it will make them more globally employable,” ," says a principal of an ICSE school.
Could lead to corruption in CBSE, ICSE schools
Although the government may be keen on introducing Kannada in all schools, it may be easier said than done, believe some experts. Ms. Archana S Shanmukhan, an academic consultant working with several boards of examinations, claims the policy will not be easy to implement.
"Board examinations are not mandatory for CBSE/ICSE schools. Also their curriculum, and examination policy are decided in Delhi. So imposing this rule may lead to corruption,' she warns. Pointing out that the state government's controversial language policy has forced many schools to follow dubious ways to get an English medium tag, she recalls, "When the authorities were investigating cases of sexual harassment in schools last year they found quite by accident that they were violating the language policy by bribing officials. This policy too could also end up similarly." .
But Kannada teachers of CBSE/ICSE schools don’t seem to have such worries. One teacher of an ICSE school, Saroja Bhat, argues that as Kannada is not a mandatory subject in the board examinations, it is fun to learn for her students. "We try to teach Kannada with the help of English to help the students learn it quickly. What is the harm in learning a language,?" she asks.
Some parents too point out that the Visveswaraya Technological University, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences and Bangalore University have already made learning Kannada compulsory in their first semesters. “If students are ready to learn a foreign language as a secondary language, why not an Indian language?" asks Mrs. Chitra Subramanya, a parent.
