Kuvempu favoured education in mother tongue, says KDA chairman

Mysuru: Recalling poet laureate Kuvempu’s championing of education in the mother tongue, Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman SG Siddaramaiah on Sunday lashed out at the Karnataka government’s decision to introduce English as the medium of instruction in state-run schools. “The government has no moral right on the state anthem penned by Kuvempu now,” said the KDA chief.
Siddaramaiah, who felicitated students from eight districts who had distinguished themselves in Kannada, alleged that the decisions taken by the state government in the field of education constituted ‘murder’ of the Kannada language.
“Kuvempu strongly advocated education in the mother tongue. He has expressed his stance on the subject in many of his works too. The poet condoned the two-language system, but was opposed to the three-language formula. Kuvempu had voiced fears about the impact that failing to impart education in the mother tongue may have on the future of students. It is sad that state governments are failing in their duty to protect the language of the soil,” said the KDA chief.
Pointing out that the government was committed to providing free education and health, Siddaramaiah added, “The government must fulfil its commitments. English has already been introduced as the medium of instruction in a 1,000 state-run schools, and this is a dangerous trend. Worse still, directions have been issued to hike admissions if there is a spike in demand. While the state government is promoting English, the central government is pushing for the three-language formula. This has imperiled Kannada language.”
Echoing Siddaramaiah’s concerns, writer CP Krishnakumar feared for the fate of Kannada-medium government schools, which he said would be forced to close down if the state continued to push for English as the medium of instruction.
Chamaraja MLA and BJP leader L Nagendra said that development was possible only if education was imparted in the mother tongue, and lamented the failure of the government to accord due importance to Kannada in the state.
MLC R Dharmasena, mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath, Mysuru zilla panchayat president Parimala Shyam and taluk panchayat president Kalamma Kemparamaiah were among those who attended the felicitation ceremony.