Latest news with #Kannada-English
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Kannada medium schools face low enrolment as parents prefer bilingual options
Mangaluru: Despite the success of Kannada-English bilingual schools in Dakshina Kannada, traditional Kannada medium schools on the same campuses continue to suffer from poor enrolment. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As of now, the district has a total of 123 bilingual schools spread across all taluks. According to officials, the majority of these Kannada medium schools have single-digit admissions to Class 1. This highlights a growing preference for English-integrated education in the district, posing a significant challenge to the future of Kannada medium instruction schools. HR Eshwara, BEO, South, told TOI there is a growing demand for bilingual schools across the district since they teach both in Kannada and English. However, parents have misunderstood that it is a purely English-medium school. As a result, there are few admissions to traditional Kannada medium schools with Kannada being the medium of instruction. The permissible admission to these bilingual schools in a batch for a year is 30. There are instances where teachers ask the parents to admit their children into Kannada medium schools when they demand bilingual education. It is done based on the teachers' evaluation of the child's academic strength. "Though the parents force teachers to admit them into the bilingual medium, teachers counsel them to join the Kannada medium as they are required to be part of Nali-Kali, a project to ensure early literacy competencies in Kannada language learning, basic numeracy, and environmental science. The three-year Nali-Kali helps a child to equip themselves with academic knowledge. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now If the parent is unwilling, the teachers send them to admit them to a bilingual medium," said Eshwara. BEOs pointed out that there is more demand for English medium schools, and it is leading to a rush at bilingual medium schools. Parents insist that their ward be admitted to these schools. "Soon, these Kannada medium schools on bilingual medium school campuses will shut down due to poor admissions. We cannot force parents to join Kannada medium schools, and teachers are helpless," said one of the BEOs. On the other hand, many parents, especially from North Karnataka, prefer only Kannada-medium schools. Krishnappa said that while locals prefer bilingual medium schools, migrants from North Karnataka prefer only Kannada medium schools. In the academic year 2019-20, a total of 48 bilingual schools were sanctioned for the first time, and it has 123, with three schools being permitted this academic year. The total admitted students in these schools is around 3,000.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Surge in request to start bilingual schools, KGs in DK
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada (DK) is experiencing a surge in demand to start bilingual (Kannada-English) schools this academic year. Additionally, there is an official request for the commencement of LKG/UKG in govt school campuses, which are overseen by the SDMC. Govinda Madivala, DDPI, DK, said that they forwarded all the requests to the govt and are awaiting a response. He explained that the increased demand can be attributed to the success of bilingual schools in attracting good admissions due to their medium of instruction. Many schools received positive feedback from parents, and received a good response for admissions, prompting them to request govt permission to establish such schools. As per Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK), there are currently 122 bilingual schools in the district. "Though there are several applications received, govt grants permission to only a few," said an official from SSK. There is also a growing demand for permission to establish high schools on higher primary school campuses. Madivala clarified that starting a high school involves several rules, including a minimum of five acres of campus, a radius exclusion zone of 5km, and a sufficient student population. Considering these rules, particularly the 5km radius exclusion zone, DK cannot grant permission to any high school. However, this rule does not apply to starting unaided high schools. He also mentioned that one govt school near Surathkal already constructed facilities for high school before applying for permission. "We are exploring ways to allow permission to the school," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like [Click Here] - 2025 Top Trending Search - Local network access Esseps Learn More Undo Apart from bilingual and high schools, there is a growing demand to establish kindergarten (LKG/UKG) classes in primary school premises. Madivala explained that currently, Karnataka Public Schools are officially permitted to start kindergarten on their campuses, which are funded by the govt. While other govt schools can also start kindergarten, it should only be done when there are no anganwadis nearby. He emphasised that although there is no official permission required to start LKG/UKG in govt school premises when funded by the SDMC and local authorities, it must only be done when there are no anganwadi centres. He also highlighted the challenges in places where both the school campus and anganwadi facilities exist.
