Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
Mangalore, Aug 28: Kannada Sahithya Parishad president Pundaleeka Halambi has said that the Parishad is carefully watching the move of the government which has given the ‘go ahead’ for introducing English as a medium of instruction from sixth standard in 341 government schools.
In his speech after being felicitated by the DK district Kannada Sahithya Parishad at Sharada Vidyalaya here on Monday August 27, he asserted the importance and need for education through mother tongue and added that the Parishad will not allow English to replace Kannada.
He stated that both the state and the central government have not been following the scientific language policy, and this raises a suspicion that the government is in favour of privatization of education. He feared that in case education is privatized, people in the downtrodden society will miss out from education. He said that the people falling prey to ‘English medium’ as their priority is a kind of ‘epidemic disease’ and added for the flow of knowledge, teaching in Kannada is the only option.
Speaking on the future plans of the Parishad, he said that women representatives will be welcomed and that religious minority people will also be given places to excel in the literary field. He assured that amendments will be made in the election procedures with regard to the election for the post of taluk panchayath president so that they can be elected only once in his or her lifetime. As demands were raised in various corners that the Akhila Bharatha Sahithya Sammelan need not be held every year, rather other programmes related to Kannada language and literature could be held, he said such demands will be considered. He said that the Kannada Sahithya Parishad will be a secular institution.
Padmashree Dr B M Hegde who inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp said,”Those 250 years of our slavery with the English people has still not gone from the minds of people.” He also stated that the medium of instruction in one’s own mother tongue is scientifically proven to be good for one’s intellectual enhancement. He also believed that three languages across the globe viz Sanskrit, German, Kannada are rich in their inscription.
DK district Kannada Sahithya Parishad president Pradeep Kumar Kalkura presided over the function. M B Puranik, Krishnaprasad Madthila and P B Harish Rai were present among the others.