Teaching Kannada as a First or Second Language is Now Mandatory in Karnataka’s CBSE and ICSE Institutions

All private schools that use the CBSE and ICSE curricula must teach Kannada as a first or second language, according to a new set of regulations announced by the government.

Schools are prepared to challenge this, notwithstanding the government’s notification of the Karnataka Education Institutions (Issue of No Objection Certificate and Control) Rules.

For any school, whether new or old, to become connected with the CBSE or ICSE, they must obtain an NOC from the Department of Education.

The Kannada Language Learning Act, of 2015, which mandates that Kannada be taught as a first or second language in all schools, is compliant with the new guidelines.

The Department of Education issued no-objection certificates to schools, enabling them to teach Kannada as a second or third language, in contravention of the 2015 law. Although this ‘anomaly’ has been remedied by the new regulations, the previous laws still force most schools to teach Kannada as a third language.

In reaction to the historic 2014 Supreme Court ruling invalidating Kannada or native tongue as the primary language of instruction, the first Siddaramaiah-led Congress administration passed the 2015 legislation.

Due to concerns about the 2015 law’s constitutionality, a group of parents filed a case against it at the High Court.

The Independent CBSE Schools Association’s president, M Srinivasan, stated, “Parents have filed a petition, which is now waiting. Kannada can be taught in schools without raising any issues, but not as a first language. Let the government designate it as one of the three languages, and let parents and educators make the final decision.”

School officials believe that Bengaluru, being a cosmopolitan city, has migrant parents from different states whose children will struggle with mandated Kannada learning as their first or second language. “It will disadvantage students from other states. Even if we compel them to learn the language now, they will struggle in Class 10,” remarked one ICSE school principal.

However, a top official justified the new guidelines by pointing out that the 2015 law is already in effect. “The Kannada Language Learning Act makes it mandatory to teach Kannada as a first or second language. “We have incorporated this by amending the NOC rules,” the official stated.