BENGALURU: The art of elegant cursive handwriting — once a classroom essential and a matter of pride for students — is rapidly disappearing from schools across Bengaluru. Teachers, handwriting tutors, and experts say the decline is the result of changing learning habits, growing dependence on digital devices, and shrinking attention spans. While some argue that cursive writing remains crucial for a child’s cognitive development, others believe it should no longer be imposed in an era where writing practices are evolving with technology.
Handwriting centres report a sharp dip in cursive skills
Metrolife spoke to seven handwriting centres across the city, all of which confirmed that cursive writing is becoming increasingly difficult for young learners. These institutes maintain that cursive writing plays a vital role beyond penmanship — it supports fine motor development and improves hand–eye coordination.
Tutors also note that children tend to retain or understand concepts better when they physically write them down rather than type on tablets, laptops, or mobile devices. A handwriting tutor from an institute in Vijayanagar said that students from Classes 1 to 4 are now struggling to write in a continuous flow. According to her, many children lose focus within minutes and find it difficult to complete even a line of cursive text.
A representative from a handwriting centre in Nagdevanahalli added that earlier it took only a few weeks to train students in the basics of cursive writing, while today “it takes months before they can form smooth, connected letters”. She attributed the decline to a lack of early training and to children spending more time using gadgets than engaging with books or notebooks.
Teachers say digital exposure is altering writing habits
Primary school teachers across Bengaluru echo the same concern. Savitha K, a teacher in Halasuru, said many students struggle to produce legible cursive writing despite regular instruction and practice sessions. She believes the early introduction of digital devices — including smartphones, tablets, and speech-to-text tools — has significantly reduced writing fluency.
“Children are used to tapping and swiping. They find it tiring to write for long periods. So we let them discover their own writing style and guide them to improve clarity rather than force cursive,” she said.
Another teacher from the same school said parents often seek help when they notice their children’s poor handwriting, especially in cursive. She often recommends enrolling them in handwriting classes, as schools alone cannot allocate the time needed to build foundational skills.
Trainers emphasise importance of fundamentals
Suma, a trainer at Akshara Calligraphy and Handwriting Classes in Koramangala, said the major problem is not the decline of cursive itself, but the lack of correct foundational training in early years. Children often learn to write letters in fragmented or inconsistent ways, which makes it difficult for them to transition smoothly into cursive scripts later.
“Once the basics are fixed — posture, pencil grip, letter formation — writing becomes easy and cursive becomes natural,” she explained. Cursive writing, she added, helps children write faster by allowing letters to flow instead of being written in disconnected strokes.
Expert challenges the push for cursive in schools
However, handwriting and calligraphy expert K C Janardhan has a different view. He believes the insistence on cursive writing is outdated and unnecessary. According to him, cursive was traditionally designed for slow, careful writing, yet modern expectations require people to write over 60 words a minute, whereas most manage only 30 with acceptable legibility.
“How can we expect speed and clarity from a style meant to be written slowly?” he asked.
Janardhan also questioned why cursive is often treated as the ’proper’ or superior handwriting style when many world scripts — such as Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and Indian languages including Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Sanskrit — do not involve connected strokes at all.
Handwriting is evolving, not disappearing
Despite concerns about handwriting declining globally, Janardhan remains optimistic. He believes handwriting will never vanish as long as humans continue to communicate through written forms. Instead, he says, it will evolve with changing mediums — “from cave walls to palm leaves, from paper to screens and digital styli”.
A trainer from the Handwriting School of India in J P Nagar also emphasised that writing remains the foundation of learning, regardless of the format. According to him, children grasp concepts better when they write by hand, even if their script is not in cursive.
Conclusion
As Bengaluru’s classrooms undergo rapid digital transformation, cursive handwriting stands at a crossroads. While some educators insist it is essential for cognitive development and writing fluency, others argue that the future of handwriting lies in adaptability rather than adherence to tradition. What remains clear is that handwriting — whether cursive or not — continues to play an important role in learning, expression, and communication, even in a screen-dominated world.