Yeddyurappa Regime’s `No’ to English Medium Schools this Year
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, May 14: The State Government on Thursday made it clear that it would not change its stance on the language policy and that it would not permit English medium primary schools to operate from this year as it against the policy.
It also announced that it would file an appeal in the Karnataka High Court against a single judge order directing it to consider and pass orders on an application by an English medium school from Bangalore seeking permission to start an English medium school.
Rajajinagar Education Society of Bangalore had moved the High Court after the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), Bangalore North, had issued an endorsement stating that the Government would not permit it to start teaching in English as the Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Full Bench order of the High Court is pending in the Supreme Court.
The single judge Mohan Shantanagoudar had on April 6, 2009 allowed the petition by the Society and directed the DDPI to consider the society’s application within four weeks after it made the application.
As the four week deadline will end this week, the Government has decided to file an appeal against this order in the High Court, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Vishvesvara Hegde Kageri and Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Kumar said.
Kageri and Suresh Kumar met presspersons after a holding a meeting with officials and lawyers to discus the issue of language policy. Ministers said the Supreme Court had only deferred hearing of the state’s application seeking a stay on the full bench order of the High Court restricting its language policy only to government schools. The ministers said the Apex Court had asked the Karnataka Unaided School Management Association (KUSMA) and others to file their objections to the State’s application.
Ministers said they would discuss the issue with Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa and file the appeal before the High Court.