Mangaluru: The Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy on December 12, urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to add Konkani as a medium of education in the state.
The Academy made the request based on the New Education Policy 2020 that aims to foster the education of the mother tongue and stated that there are more than 25 lakh Konkani speaking people across Karnataka – three religions and 42 communities currently use the language.
According to NEP 2020, “The medium of instruction until at least Class 5, but preferably till Class 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother-tongue/local language/regional language”. Beyond, the classes mandated, it’s not compulsory to continue in the regional medium of education.
The Academy has requested for Konkani to be used as a medium of education up to Class 5 and be offered as a subject for classes above that. They have also requested to include Konkani as a subject for courses like B.Ed, M.Ed, and D.Ed. To supplement this change, they have also asked for the recruitment of more Konkani educators.
From the academic year 2007-2008, Konkani has been added as a third language for interested students till the 10th standard on an optional basis in both the Kannada script and Devanagri script.
