All students must learn English: Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy

BENGALURU: Defending the state government’s move to make English a compulsory subject in schools, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday dared Kannada activists to reveal where their children were studying before preaching about the language.

“We will protect and promote Kannada. But, at the same time, we want to ensure students from rural areas and middle-class families learn English in order to remain competitive in this fast-changing world,” Kumaraswamy said. He was speaking at the launch of BBMP Roshini, a project aimed at transforming BBMP schools into worldclass learning centres, in association with Microsoft.

“Some people come to us and say our mother-tongue Kannada should be promoted and be made the medium of instruction. English is a necessity; learning another language does not amount to disrespecting the mother tongue. Why should we deprive poor students and those from rural areas the opportunity to learn and speak in English,” the chief minister asked.

He took potshots at selfstyled Kannada activists, stating: “A lot of people come to us claiming they will save Kannada and they also attack the government on that front. But I request them to give an advertisement mentioning where their children are studying. I will respect them then. Our government is committed to improve quality of education and better the lives of students; we will not go back on making English a subject for students.”

‘Officials should act before high court rap’

The chief minister directed the BBMP commissioner to take up infrastructure and maintenance work before the courts pull them up for lapses. Referring to the high court’s directive on filling potholes, Kumaraswamy asked Palike officials, “Why do you have to wait till you are reprimanded? It is painful to see children unable to sleep when it rains at night and then are busy throwing out water from their flooded houses. You should make your engineers work.”