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New Delhi, July 21: There is good news for
parents and children who wish to pursue an education in
English medium schools in Karnataka. Those who worried
that their children would be put through compulsory
Kannada-medium schooling from std 1 to 4 can breath a
sigh of relief.
The Supreme Court refused to stay the Karnataka High
Court's judgement quashing a state government order
making Kannada the compulsory medium of instruction in
all schools of the state from class I to IV.
A three judge Bench headed by Chief Justice K G
Balakrishnan also directed that the government shall not
take any action against schools which had applied for
recognition with English and other languages as a medium
of instruction.
The apex court, however, said that the contempt
proceedings initiated by the High Court against the
state government will remain stayed. The HC had earlier
initiated contempt proceedings against the state after
it refused to grant permission to schools which did not
have Kannada as a medium of instruction.
Thousands of highly skilled and other migrants from
other parts of India throng to Bangalore, Mysore,
Mangalore in search of employment. Students, including
theological graduates and scholars, from all over India
come to Bangalore with their families. All of them will
be relieved to learn that they can now send their wards
to English medium schools. The Karnataka government for
long behaved as if it wanted either to flush out all
migrants or punish them by imposing Kannada on the
children of migrants.
The Supreme Court was not convinced by the arguments put
forward by the counsel who represented Karnataka
government. The three-judge bench ruled that parents
should have the freedom to choose whatever is best for
their children. A move away from English would prevent
children from being competitive in today's world, the
bench observed.
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