K’taka HC Issues Notice to State on Challenge to Compulsory Kannada Study

The Karnataka High Court has issued notice to the State government in response to PIL petitions filed by a group of parents.

These petitions challenge the laws mandating the study of Kannada language, even for students enrolled in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) schools within the State.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice M.G.S. Kamal issued the order based on a petition submitted by Somashekar C. and 19 other parents whose children attend schools affiliated with CBSE and CISCE.

The petitioners have raised concerns about the Constitutional validity of the provisions within the Kannada Language Learning (KLL) Act, 2015, the KLL Rules, 2017, and the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Issue of No Objection Certificate and Control) Rules, 2022. These regulations make Kannada a compulsory subject from Class I to X across all schools, including those affiliated with CBSE and CISCE. The petitioners highlight inconsistencies within these laws, noting that the KLL Act and rules designate Kannada as either a first or second language, while the NOC Rules make it mandatory as either a second or third language.

The crux of the petitioners’ argument is that these three laws conflict with the provisions of the Karnataka Education (KE) Act, 1983, which excludes CBSE and CISCE-affiliated schools. They also refer to a recent High Court ruling that deemed certain rules related to fees unconstitutional for CBSE, CISCE, and private unaided schools, following amendments to the KE Act in 1998.

The petition emphasizes that last year, the High Court halted the State government’s 2021 Order, issued in reference to the National Educational Policy 2020, which aimed to make Kannada a compulsory subject for undergraduate courses. The Union government clarified that the NEP does not mandate any language as compulsory.

The petitioners contend that requiring students whose mother tongue is not Kannada, and those who enroll in Karnataka schools midway through their primary education, to study Kannada as outlined in these laws is challenging. They also express concern that State authorities are pressuring CBSE and CISCE schools to teach Kannada as a compulsory subject by threatening to revoke their NOC if they do not comply.