As part of a major education reform, Kannada teaching has been introduced in madrasas, while 900 Kannada and Urdu medium schools are being upgraded into Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) to strengthen language-based learning.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the initiative on Saturday, stating that 900 schools: 800 Kannada and 100 Urdu medium, will be developed under the KPS model, with an investment of around Rs 4 crore per school and a total project outlay of Rs 2,500 crore.

Calling for a national law to ensure education in the mother tongue, Siddaramaiah said at the 70th Kannada Rajyotsava celebration that neglecting local languages weakens children’s learning and thinking abilities.

He added that the government will prioritise teaching Kannada in madrasas.

“The government is determined to make Kannada a language of modern technology. I urge scholars and experts to help us in this effort,” he said.

The Chief Minister noted that Kannada, with a history of over 2,000 years, is recognised as a classical language.

He emphasised that children in developed countries learn in their mother tongues, while in India, English and Hindi have overshadowed regional languages.

Primary-level Kannada teaching has already begun in 180 madrasas and will be extended to 1,500 in the coming years.

Additionally, Rs 483 crore has been allocated for the development of Urdu schools under the same model.

Siddaramaiah said the government aims to equip the Kannada language for the digital era and the challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ensuring that technology does not limit job opportunities.

Paying tribute to the martyrs of the Karnataka unification movement, he remembered Aluru Venkata Rao, Kengal Hanumanthaiah, and others who fought for a unified Karnataka in 1956.