From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 16: If the recommendations of a high-level panel is accepted by the State Government, studying Kannada will become mandatory for all technical and medical professional courses in Karnataka from the coming academic year of 2016-17.

The panel headed by Hi Chi Boralingaiah,former vice-chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi, has recommended that teaching Kannada language should be made mandatory in professional courses, including medical and engineering, in Karnataka, from next academic year (2016-17) for at least two semesters.

As of now, no professional courses in the Universities has been teaching Kannada language for students.
The panel submitted its 24-page report to Higher Education Minister T B Jayachandra, who also holds the law and parliamentary portfolio, in Bengaluru on Saturday.

The Boralingaiah panel has recommended separate Kannada textbooks for Kannada and non-Kannada students pursuing professional courses such as medical, engineering, agricultural and law.

The panel members comprising vice-chancellors of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka State Law University, University of Agricultural Sciences-B, and Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries University, Bidar, recommended separate teaching staff to be appointed for students whose mother tongue is Kannada and non-Kannada students.

However, for the benefit of non-Kannada students, the panel said lecturers having expertise both Kannada and English should be appointed.

Prof Boralingaiah said studying Kannada language would help familiarise students with Kannada language, culture and history.

He said learning should not become a sort of punishment for non-Kannada students so that the professionals will be able to easily communicate with the people in the State.

The panel has recommended simple Kannada textbooks for such students.

Different Kannada textbooks and syllabus should be prepared for Kannada and non-Kannada students, the panel said.

While 50 per cent of the syllabus to be uniform in all universities, it said rest of the 50 per cent of the syllabus should in accordance with the regional dialects, (for example, Dharwad Kannada, Coastal Kannada, Kalaburagi Kannada, Mandya and Chamarajangar Kannada etc).

All Universities in the State should formulate a committee having language expert and subject expert, to draft textbooks.

The textbooks prepared by the committee to be approved by academic council. All universities must take up the issue seriously and make preparations for teaching Kannada language from the next academic year itself, the committee felt.

Teaching Kannada should be made mandatory for first four semesters for students joining the law degree (LLB) course after PUC and two semesters for those students joining the course after the graduation.