The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Verdict may not help erring schools

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Monday, Jul 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Verdict may not help erring schools

B.S. Ramesh

They have given an undertaking on medium of instruction

Court has upheld the language policy
2,600 schools violated the language policy

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court verdict on the language policy is unlikely to be of much help to educational institutions that had violated the undertaking they had given to the government that they would teach in the medium of instruction in which they had been permitted to start.

A Full Bench of the High Court had on Wednesday held that students of private and unaided primary school should be allowed to choose their medium of instruction and that the State could not force children to study in a particular medium. The Bench has, however, upheld the 1994 language policy and quashed only four provisions all of them relating to the medium of instruction.

Legal experts and government advocates who have fought cases relating to the language policy in both the High Court and Supreme Court point out that the judgment will not help schools that have already given an undertaking to teach in the medium of instruction in which they have been permitted. Some of these schools have also filed an affidavit in the High Court promising to abide by the undertaking.

The experts say that in 2007 the Government came up with a voluntary scheme to help schools (that had violated the terms of the undertaking) to come back to the mainstream. More than 2,600 schools were found to have violated the undertaking and they were given an option to opt for the scheme and once again give an undertaking to impart education in the language in which they had been permitted to open.

While some schools accepted the voluntary scheme (notified first on April 12, 2007 and extended subsequently), others had moved the High Court against it.

No shelter

Legal experts say such institutions that have either given an undertaking or filed an affidavit cannot now switch over to teaching in English. They cannot take shelter under the Full Bench judgment. They have to file an application before the Government for permission to start an English medium school or urge the High Court to review their case.

The experts say that voluntary scheme has nothing to do with the language policy at all. Moreover, the High Court has not struck down the policy but only four sections of it. Therefore, schools cannot claim shelter under the judgment and begin teaching in English or say that they will not confirm to the policy.

The Government says as on 2007, there are 24,877 Government primary schools (from 1st to 5th standard), 326 aided primary schools, 3,243 unaided schools and 43 other schools (total 28,499 schools) in Karnataka imparting education to 78.26 lakh children. Of them, only 2,600 schools were found to have violated the undertaking.

There are only a handful of institutions that have either not filed an affidavit or opted for the scheme. The only recourse for all primary schools is to file a review of their case before the High court and seek relief under the Full Bench judgment or file an application before the Government for permission to teach in English or open an English medium school.

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