Kannada-English should go hand in hand
Many thinkers, writers and literatures have taken to streets protesting against the government decision to open English medium schools. It is rather significant to note that this protest is supported and endorsed by former 'bandaya’ (rebel) writers and noted writer SL Bhyrappa. Their apprehension is that if government starts English medium schools. Kannada would be lost forever. But it is rather appropriate to ask this question about the schools where their kids and grandkids are getting their education.
The answer to this question would be rather very disappointing. No one is doubting their love for Kannada. And their protests may not save any Kannada schools, is a hard fact.
Kannada medium in today's Karnataka is like a worn off dress used and discarded by upper caste and affluent people. For a simple reason that they are studying in Government schools people are forced to wear the same tattered dress. We also need to note that Kannada schools are closing down one by one in the recent times. Sub quality of education is not the only contributing factor to this.
The middle class and the lower middle class people, having realised the value of English based education, are refusing to send their children to Kannada medium schools.
Only those families that can ill afford to send their children to private schools are sending their wards to government schools. These children are ideal Guinea pigs for lab experiments for our writers.
None of them even spared a thought to see why over 3000 Kannada schools closed down in the past in the state, what could be the reasons for this, why the number of students is dwindling in these schools, why parents are not admitting their children here and how that can be rectified through dialogue with the government.
What happens with government schools close down? People from lower economic background and backward castes lose the lone opportunity to access education forever. Government English medium schools present these kids with two opportunities. They not only get education free of cost, along with that they also get the knowledge of English that will help them access better opportunities in life. They can then stand on par with kids who study in private schools.
This is what worries people like Bhyrappa who come from privileged brahminical background when they oppose thoughts such as this. How would it make any difference whether government schools teach in English or Kannada medium when the existence of these very schools is in a quandary?
We need to support these English medium schools at least on experimental basis. We need not take words of these lofty idealistic people who are not concerned about the future of lakhs of children. We need to work on saving government schools. If government schools can survive and work by teaching English, we must support that shift. Along with this, we also need to find a way to save Kannada for future. Today's situation is that we need to incorporate the enticement towards English to save Kannada.
In the past, writer Anantha Murthy had said in his speech of a Kannada conference chair that today we need to find ways to ensure Kannada and English co exist for better future. Today, in other English schools, Kannada is being ignored totally, hence the new generation stands very far from Kannada.
If this continues, a generation of Kannada speaking people may come to an end in the next two decades. Private schools thrive on the fear of parents who feel English is inevitable for a better future of their children. We need to use the same strategy to push English into government schools and save them.
Along with Kannada, we also need to teach English from primary classes to kids. This way, Kannada inevitably has to ride the shoulder of English. We cannot operate anywhere in banks or Courts, government offices or new businesses such as IT and BT without English. Having made English this inevitable, to say that the poor needn't learn English would be the selfishness of a particular privileged category.
If these writers and thinkers feel English should not enter the education scenario in government schools, let them take up the fight for nationalisation of education itself. If not, the gap between the quality of education for the rich and poor will widen with every passing day. It will push the lower caste into darkness and lift the rich to better life. Hence if English is indeed inevitable, it is better to implement it thoughtfully than to live in denial about it.
Let Kannada March ahead using English as its vehicle. A student, who is educated in a govt school to communicate in both languages, can compete very confidently with convent educated students. He or she would be a lot more creative and rational in his approach. The government should never hesitate from its decision to implement English. At the same time, the government should ensure Kannada is also given equal emphasis in the meantime.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court on Saturday called for the creation of a judicial reforms commission to reduce mounting pendency in the courts, saying systemic incentives across stakeholders were contributing to delays in justice delivery.
She was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association's (SCBA) first National Conference on the theme "Reimagining judicial governance: strengthening institutions for democratic justice" here.
Nagarathna, who was part of the panel session addressing "From Pendency to Prompt Justice: Rethinking Justice Delivery in Indian Courts," said, this reforms commission must have membership not only from the judiciary of the Supreme Court, the High Court, as well as the District judiciary, but also have members from the Bar, Attorney General, Solicitor General, and also certain members representing the Bar at the institutional level, such as the Bar President, and from the government side to enable an inter-institutional dialogue on reducing pendency.
She reflected that, from the point of view of various stakeholders, a litigant gains from the status quo, to proceed to prolong proceedings.
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"A lawyer or an advocate loves adjournments and postponement because he/she benefits from per appearance and extended timelines. A government department reduces bureaucratic risk by appealing rather than accepting defeat.
"A judge, and particularly a trial judge, is always acting with caution because he/she is confronted with appellate reversal, and therefore he/she prefers procedural caution rather than having an aggressive docket control. Each of these decisions is individually rational, but how does it help the system? It is only leading to systemic delay," she added.
In order to break this equilibrium, Justice Nagarathna said that what is required is institutional interventions through a judicial commission to reduce pendency, rather than merely exhorting better conduct from judges, adherence to procedural timelines, asking advocates not to seek adjournments, urging the government to reduce litigation, or expecting courts to function round the clock and judges not to take leave.
On pendency, the judge questioned the inclusion of defective filings in court statistics, suggesting that such cases should not be counted until they are procedurally ready for hearing.
She also underlined the role of the government as the "largest generator of litigation", noting that officials tend to file appeals to avoid scrutiny, even in cases where disputes could be settled earlier. This, she said, results in cases travelling through multiple judicial levels unnecessarily.
"The government publicly expresses concern about judicial backlog, while simultaneously feeding that backlog through relentless litigation," she observed.
Justice Nagarathna further claimed judicial capacity is constrained by inadequate public investment, including delays in appointment of judges, lack of infrastructure and insufficient use of technology.
Among the measures suggested, she called for improved case management, curbs on unnecessary adjournments, adoption of technology, prioritisation of cases, promotion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and creation of specialised benches.
She also urged advocates to adhere to professional and ethical standards, litigants to avoid frivolous appeals, and the government to adopt a practical litigation policy and ensure timely funding and appointments in the judiciary.
