Well well well... so there's another hype doing the rounds in the Indian media and maybe... some social circles. The Karnataka Government has decided to make Kannada as a mandatory language to be taught in all English medium schools in Karnataka.
So what is the fuss all about??
It is argued by a lot of people that removal of English as a basic language in schools would hit the service industry (read call cantres) in the long run. Well, this must be true... but then, the media, maybe to boost newspaper sales, has decided to project the situation as if Kannada is being made the only mandatory language to be taught in schools. This is not what is actually happening... coz the Karnataka Government intends to make Kannada to be taught mandatorily in all schools only till Class 4. This however, does not mean that the studens won't get to study English. They will, but they'll also have to read their native language for a change too. Moreover, once they clear their 4th standards, they'll not be forced to study Kannada anymore.
The Government took this step because it realised that Kannada was slowly being completely removed from the syllabus of most English medium schools, which isn't quite good for the future of the language. Just because the service industry is booming, it doesn't mean the local languages will have to be shown the door. I guess the Government's decision is sane enough. It won't bar students from being taught English, but al the same time, it would also help them read and write in their own natuve language, albeit to a limited extent.
