Karnataka - Bangalore

Switching over to State syllabus? Learn Kannada

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday upheld a notification by the State Government prescribing Kannada as a compulsory subject for high schools students who had opted for the State syllabus.

Justice B.S. Patil passed the order on a petition by two children of Rakesh Kumar of Delhi who had challenged the February 25, 2007 notification under which students from outside the State who wanted to study in Karnataka and those students wanting a transfer to the State syllabus from CBSE and ICSE had to learn Kannada as one of the compulsory subjects in the 8th, 9th and 10th standards.

The notification had disallowed those taking the State syllabus from opting for Alternative English instead of Kannada.

In their petitions, Mr. Kumar’s children said they had studied in Delhi in the State syllabus and that their father had come to Bangalore as he had got a job here. They said they are students of New Cambridge High School in Vijayanagar.

When they wanted to opt for the State syllabus in Karnataka, they were asked to take Kannada instead of English.

They had challenged the notification, making Kannada mandatory. They said such a condition is illegal and contrary to the law.

They claimed that they would be staying in Bangalore till their father worked and that they are not permanent residents of the city. Moreover, learning Kannada for three years would not help them.

They urged the court to quash the notification.

The additional Government advocate defended the notification and said that in March 2007 another single judge had upheld these notifications. He urged the court to dismiss the petition.

Justice B.S. Patil dismissed the petition and upheld the Government notification.

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