Errant English-medium schools in Karnataka given a four-year breather

In a major relief to more than 300,000 students across Karnataka, the Government has decided to give a four-year breather to the 2,215 private schools in the State that were facing the threat of closure from the coming academic year for teaching in English medium in violation of the State’s language policy.

A Cabinet Sub Committee constituted by the Government to resolve the crisis has decided to phase out the English medium classes in these errant schools during the next four years. The Government has also decided to impose a stiff penalty of Rs 100,000 on schools in Bangalore, Rs 50,000 on schools in semi-urban areas and Rs 25,000 in rural areas.

Though the schools will be allowed to continue with English as the medium of instruction for Class II, III and IV, no fresh admissions for English medium will be allowed for students joining Class I from the coming academic year. The freshers will have to study in Kannada medium or the mother-tongue.

“There will be no English medium education in class I in these schools from June this year”, Chairman of the Cabinet Sub Committee V S Acharya told reporters.According to the Committee’s proposal, which will be placed before the next Cabinet meeting for approval, these schools will have to phase out one class every year starting with Class I. During the 2008-09, Class II will be closed down and so on.

The Cabinet Sub Committee’s decision has come as a major relief not only to the 300,000 students studying in these schools, but also their parents and thousands of teachers, who would be left without a job if the Government went ahead and closed down the institutions.

During August last year, the Karnataka Government had decided to close down 2,215 schools, which were teaching in English medium after obtaining licenses for starting Kannada medium schools, in gross violation of the 1994 language policy. Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti had set April 11, 2007 as the deadline to close them down.

The managements of these private schools had challenged the State Government’s decision to close them down and a final verdict in the case is awaited. But, the Cabinet Sub Committee’s decision will give the private schools the much-needed respite.