Bengaluru: A division bench of the High Court on Wednesday April 6 stayed two State Government orders making the Kannada language a compulsory subject in Higher Education as part of implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) until further notice. The order follows the Centre’s statement that the NEP does not plan to make the local State language compulsory in Higher Education.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice S. R. Krishna Kumar stayed the order.
The government orders on August 7 and September 15 making Kannada a compulsory language to be learned in degree colleges – regardless of language courses done at the pre-university level – caused difficulty while applying for degree college admissions in Karnataka in 2021.
Shivakumar G (18) and five other students, as well as several trusts led by the Samskrita Bharathi trust, have filed a petition with the High Court challenging the government’s decision to make Kannada a compulsory language for degree courses.
“Pupils who have previously taken the Kannada language of their own volition may continue to do so, but students who do not choose to take the Kannada language shall not be compelled to do so until further orders,” the court stated last year.
However, in an affidavit in January to the High Court, the Centre stated that the NEP does not envisage making the local State language compulsory in Higher Education.
According to the affidavit, the NEP 2020 aims to create a comprehensive educational system that allows citizens easy access while keeping in mind the local, regional, and national levels. As a result, the policy must be understood, interpreted, and implemented while keeping in mind the Constitution’s broad objectives.
