BENGALURU: The Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar said the lecturers and principals across all degree colleges and polytechnics must cultivate the habit of communicating with students in English instead of Kannada, as students can still speak Kannada when they return home or step outside the campus.

Sudhakar was speaking after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Council and Microsoft India to expand teaching English for Youth across 54 institutions reaching over 9,500 students.

These 54 institutions include 29 government first grade colleges and 25 government polytechnic. Through this programme, the government is ensuring students from government engineering colleges, first grade colleges and polytechnics receive not only technical knowledge but also communication skills.

He added, “After an hour of English classes in this programme, if you end up speaking to them in Kannada outside the classroom, then it wouldn’t yield desired results. We must ensure that students are fluent in English before they graduate and begin looking for jobs.”

Gouri Puranik, head of the English programmes at British Council, India, said, “Students form English Practice Clubs and are guided by the trainers and facilitators to learn English. These clubs help students rise up to their leadership potential and learn from each other’s mistakes.”