The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday stayed the two-state government orders that made learning Kannada compulsory for undergraduate students.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice SR Krishna Kumar passed the order in view of the clear stand taken by the center that there is no mention of any compulsory language in higher studies under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
The court’s order came after it was hearing public interest litigation by Samskrita Bharati (Karnataka) Trust, Bengaluru, which is an RSS affiliate, and other institutions.
The petitioners challenged the government order issued on August 7, 2021, and September 15, 2021, arguing that forcing students to learn Kannada in undergraduate courses is contrary to the objectives of the NEP. The state government contended that the orders saying students from other states to learn functional Kannada for a year was a policy decision in tune with the recommendations of the VK Gokak Committee report.
Referring to Centre’s stand that Kannada cannot be made a compulsory subject in higher studies for the purpose of implementing NEP-2020, the bench said, “We prima facie find that the impugned government order cannot be implemented. The operation of both the orders (has been) stayed till further orders.”
