BANGALORE: The Karnataka Cabinet on Saturday decided to introduce English as a compulsory subject from the first standard in Kannada-medium schools from the coming academic year (2007).

Addressing presspersons after a Cabinet meeting, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj S. Horatti said both private and government schools would teach English from the first standard from June 2007. The Primary and Secondary Education Department would train 6,000 teachers to teach English, Mr. Horatti said. In order to implement the three-language formula, the Cabinet decided to make the learning of Kannada compulsory in English-medium schools from the first standard and from the third standard in schools run by linguistic minorities, such as Urdu and Marathi schools. Kannada was now being taught as an optional subject from the third standard in schools run by linguistic minorities, he said.

On the derecognition of over 2,000 English-medium schools, Mr. Horatti said that there was no change in the Government's stand. The managements had obtained permission to open Kannada-medium schools but were teaching in English. All schools violating the permitted medium of instruction would be derecognised from April 11, 2007, he said.

To issue ration cards to eligible families living below the poverty line (BPL), the Cabinet decided to relax the guidelines set. Families who own three hectares of dry land or irrigated land, cellular phones and two wheelers up to 100 cc capacity would be eligible to obtain BPL cards, Mr. Horatti said.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department would soon issue a circular to all deputy commissioners directing them to follow the new guidelines, he said.

The Cabinet met a demand of the Kannada film industry by deciding to book culprits involved in video piracy under the Goonda Act.

The step would also help curb the production of pornographic films, Mr. Horatti said.

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