Parents cheer as English makes a comeback

Bangalore : Six-year-old M.B. Shalini came out of the school with awestruck wonder in her eyes after learning the basics of a language she had never known before – English.

More than three million first standard students of government-run primary schools across Karnataka have begun taking English language lessons. The schools had stopped teaching English almost two decades ago.

Even as parents are enthusiastic about English's comeback beginning Friday, a section of leading Kannada writers and several pro-Kannada outfits are upset.

"It sounds so different from Kannada," Shalini said. "I'll take some time to exactly pronounce the words like they are."

The Karnataka government had to bow down to pressure from pro-Kannada language lobby in the late 1980s and banned English up to Class V.

The ban was strictly enforced in government schools. But private schools continued to impart education from the primary level in English, effectively producing two classes of citizens in the state.

But with Bangalore becoming the hub of IT, and globalization producing jobs where knowledge of English is a must, parents across the state began to clamour for English.

The government came under renewed pressure to bring English back into the curriculum at the primary level. Families complained that the children found it difficult to switch over to English from Class V.

The demand was particularly strong from the poorer sections, which sent their children to government schools because fees are much cheaper than in private institutions.

"It is essential to know English for better job prospects," explained M. Boraiah, the guardian of a tiny tot.

The Janata Dal-Secular and Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government was under pressure from the pro-Kannada groups not to reverse the ban.

But the government went ahead. Officials say the move will benefit around 3.5 million children studying in over 50,000 government schools across the state.

Meanwhile, the government and around 2,100 private schools in the state are locked in a legal battle over violation of language policy by these schools.

The managements of these schools had taken permission to run the institutions with Kannada as the medium of instruction. However, they adopted English because of demands from parents of their students.

The violation had been on since the early 1990s. But it was only last year that the government decided to strictly enforce the rule and de-recognise the schools found flouting the norms.

The government then decided to allow the schools to run only if they gave an undertaking that they will follow Kannada as medium of instruction and paid up fines for violating the rule all these years.

Furious, around 2,000 schools moved the high court. But the court rejected their plea and gave time until June 14 to file an affidavit.