Kannada row: Parents worried as school may lose its licence

BENGALURU: Parents of 564 students of SLS International Gurukul school are worried with news of the school possibly losing its license. The school came was in  limelight when it issued a circular saying students who speak in Kannada will be fined.  Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Suresh Kumar’s office confirmed that no order has been issued to cancel the licence yet, and they have merely asked the department to look into the report submitted by Kannada Development Authority chairman T S Nagabharana. “My son and daughter study in Class 2 and 3. It was wrong on the school’s part to issue such a circular but cancelling the licence will be a drastic step,” said Siddesh Kaverappa, a parent. “Admissions in other schools are closed now and we won’t be able to secure admissions for the next year,” he added. 

Harish Kumar, secretary of the school said, “Our school has 40 percent children speaking different languages such as Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. The headmistress directed the staff to issue a circular telling children not to speak in ‘other languages’. However, the staff accidentally typed ‘Kannada’.” 

“We made a mistake and apologised to the department and KDA chairman T S Nagabharana as well. If they cancel the licence, it will affect the future of 564 students. We have suspended the staff who made the typing error. Parents are worried. We have not received any such communication yet. We teach Kannada to our students,” he added.