Mohandas Pai slams Karnataka's two-language plan: '3-language policy has served well'

Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital, has reacted to the State Education Policy (SEP) Commission’s two-language proposal, saying Karnataka should not replace the current three-language policy in schools.

“The three-language policy has been in India and Karnataka from Nehru’s time. Our CM should not tamper with a policy that has borne rich fruits for Kannadigas and Karnataka,” Pai said in a post tagging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “The NEP gives choices to students and parents. Karnataka should not have any policy to deny students and parents the choices and the right to make choices. We have many mother tongues in our state. Very right that everybody should learn Kannada and speak in Kannada. Apart from that, we need free choice.”

 

 

 

 

 

His remarks follow the submission of a report by the State Education Policy (SEP) Commission to the Chief Minister on Friday. The commission, led by former University Grants Commission chairman Sukhadeo Thorat, was formed in October 2023 after the Congress government said it would scrap the National Education Policy (NEP).

The report suggests that Kannada or the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction at least up to Class 5, and preferably up to Class 12. It recommends a two-language policy  Kannada or the mother tongue, and English which would remove the option of learning a third language in schools.

The commission also recommends training teachers in bilingual methods and setting up a dedicated Language Teaching Centre.

Critics of the proposal say the current three-language system allows students to learn Kannada along with other Indian or foreign languages, giving them more options. Supporters of the two-language plan say it would strengthen the use of Kannada in schools.

The state government has not yet made a decision on whether it will accept the recommendations.