While the decision to allow both Kannada and English while answering a single paper in colleges and universities has been criticised, officials maintain that stakeholders are happy with the decision. Officials have also stated that while this is a start, allowing other languages might be a possibility in the future, stated a report in The New Indian Express report.
Speaking to TNIE, Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE) Commissioner Pradeep P said that several meetings had been taken with stakeholders, specifically teachers and students, who were encouraging of the decision. “This had been implemented in polytechnic colleges around six months ago, at the start of the semester. It had been done especially as the students had come from an SSLC background, so while they were good at reading and understanding English, they could not adequately express themselves,” he said, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Following this, the Department of Technical Education had held several meetings with stakeholders to find a way for students to answer the question papers. “We had asked both teachers, students, and other stakeholders, as well as experts, to undertake the decision. As the students had difficulties in expressing themselves, we found that this was a good remedy to ensure that students aren’t concentrating on writing in English, but on the answers to the questions,” he said.
The commissioner said that they had not thought about implementing other languages alongside Kannada, but as it is what the majority of students speak, this has been implemented to start with. “To start with, we are allowing students to write both in Kannada and English. If there is a need for it, we might allow other languages, but for now, that has not been thought of,” he said.
The DCTE commissioner also said that this would not affect the students’ ability to write in English, as this was a vital component in finding employment. “We are focusing on making students more employable, so English is a core language to have if they are seeking jobs in companies. It’s vital for communication with their teams, so we have simultaneously implemented a curriculum for communication skills, which will strengthen the students’ comprehension of English,” he said.
