Every now and then, bureaucracy in India will go and do something very, very unusual.
Bangalore: Over 1,400 schools in Karnataka have been asked to shut down because they use English as the medium of instruction.
The Karnataka government insists that the medium of instruction has to be Kannada. Royal School, which operated on the basis of government approval, in South Bangalore was among the schools found teaching in English.
A 1994 government order makes it compulsory for all government-recognised schools to use only Kannada as the medium of instruction till Class V.
“We came to know that schools have to close down. Like us, nearly 1,400 schools that teach in English have to shut down immediately. De-recognition means the government withdraws permission and we are left wondering what to do next,” says Joseph Ravi, principal of Royal School.
The crackdown means that over 4.5 lakh children suddenly won’t be learning and parents wondering what’s the solution.