Udupi: Dr Purushotham Bilimale, president of the Kannada Development Authority (KDA), praised Udupi for its notably low failure rate in Kannada, despite the dominance of mother tongues like Tulu, Konkani, and Byari in the region.
Addressing the media at the V S Acharya Auditorium after a review meeting, Dr Bilimale said the authority had requested the education minister for a list of students who failed in Kannada to enable a deeper analysis and report.
He emphasized the KDA’s primary mission: to ensure effective district- and taluk-level implementation of government language policies. “We’ve visited 36 institutions across 14 districts, and the administrative response has been largely positive,” he noted.
Representatives from 20 different organizations shared inputs during the review meeting. Dr Bilimale urged the district administration to host bi-monthly meetings with language activists, while cautioning activists against taking law into their own hands.
On cultural tourism, he pointed out the lack of Kannada signage at tourist sites like St Mary’s Island, stating that local language representation enriches visitor experience. Regarding industrial influx, he said over 3,000 migrant workers have received Kannada training in Bengaluru through learning centres.
Digitisation efforts have been slow, he admitted, but assured that the long-delayed Language Bhavana project in Udupi would begin soon. A resolution is also in motion to mandate local language speakers at every bank branch.
Dr Bilimale flagged that 17,700 government schools in Karnataka lack land ownership records. “Udupi fares better, with just eight such schools. The DC has promised resolution within six months,” he said.
A committee has also been formed to promote minor languages in Karnataka.