In as many as 96 government schools of twin districts will be introduced English as a medium for instruction along with Kannada medium for the academic year 2019-20. In 2019-20 fiscal year budget - CM H D Kumaraswamy announced the project that, the state government on a pilot basis will introduce English as a medium in 1,000 state-run schools across the state. This program has been introduced by the state government in order to provide education in English medium for the financially poor in rural areas and increase the admission in government schools.
The state government has also promised of providing an environment similar to the Central Government-run Kendriya Vidyalaya in the 1,000 state-run schools. Initially, In the academic year 2019-2020, this program will be introduced only for the first-grade students and from the following year, it will be introduced to the other grades. At the district level officers concerned of the Department of Public Instructions (DDPI) have submitted the details of the schools that they have been chosen for this ambitious project in the educational sector. The officials concerned have also given nod to the district officials of making all the preparations for the introduction of English as a medium in state-run schools. The district authorities have picked 68 and 28 state-run schools in Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts for this project. In Vijayapura the authorities have decided to open a maximum of eight schools in each taluk and similarly four schools in each taluk in Bagalkot.
With just a month left for the start of the new academic year 2019-2020, the authorities are on the lines to make the necessary preparations for the introduction of English as a medium in government schools including the appointment of teachers and educating the parents about the new program. C Prasanna Kumar, Deputy Director of DDPI Vijayapura told, "Following the directions of the state government, we picked 68 schools in the districts. Those schools which have all the basic facilities and considering the strength of students, sufficient teachers and other factors the schools have been selected. Within a few weeks, nearly 75 English teachers in the district will be sent for one-month training before the beginning of the academic year. "Apart from this, the parents will be educated about the introduction of English as a medium in the government schools and they will also have an option either they can get admission to English or Kannada medium. The decision will be made by parents but we will educate them before taking admission in the state-run schools," stated DDPI.
Meanwhile, the people have welcomed the state government initiative about kick-starting the English medium in state-run schools. Professor Anil Bamford told, "It is one of the best initiatives of the state government in the education sector. With the introduction of English as a medium for necessary subjects in state-run schools will help the rural students to overcome the difficulties when they go for higher education to urban areas. This program will also give a boost to the rural areas where the backward class people can afford quality education to their children without depending only on private schools. It will also change the image of government schools in the society," opined Professor Anil Eom.
