Strengthening Kannada medium schools necessary to save Kannada language: Chinnappa Gowda

, NOV 27

Strengthening primary and high primary Kannada medium schools will bring people to these schools, which, in turn, will strengthen Kannada language, said former Vice Chancellor of Karnataka Folklore University K. Chinnappa Gowda in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters as part of Mangaluru Press Club Monthly Guest interaction series, Mr. Gowda said over ₹ 25 crore is given by government every year for conducting state level Kannada conference. These state level conferences have turned out to be a festival and have not made any significant contribution for growth of Kannada.

“Instead, Government can cut down the grant and use that amount to strengthen Kannada medium primary and high primary schools in a taluk a year. If people are convinced that quality education is available in Kannada medium schools, the number of students in these schools will definitely increase. This in a way will help in growth of Kannada,” Mr. Gowda said. He took the instance of Alvas Kannada medium school in Moodbidri getting 10,000 applications every year seeking admission and he said: “If good Kannada medium school, people will always come.” Making law necessitating Kannada medium study in the primary school will not help, he said.

State language:

With rich literary and cultural heritage, Tulu has necessary prerequisites to be considered as a State language. The State can also grant state language status to Kodava, Lambani and other native spoken languages of Karnataka. There is a need of political will to grant state language status to Tulu.

Stating about the vibrant living tradition reflected in Yakshangana and ‘Paadana’, Mr. Gowda said there is lot of scope for research to bring out facets of Yakshagana. There is need of institutional support to resume collection of ‘Paadanas’, Mr. Gowda stated.

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Published - November 28, 2024 08:20 am IST