The preference for English-medium classes in government schools is evident as the demand for those sections in 1,000 government schools is twice that for Kannada-medium sections.
According to data collated by the Department of Public Instruction, as many as 26,443 students have been admitted to English-medium sections, as opposed to 12,034 to Kannada-medium sections in the same schools.
Bengaluru South education district leads with 1,743 students admitted to English-medium sections. On the other hand, Ballari leads when it comes to admissions to Kannada-medium sections (924). The lowest numbers for both English- and Kannada-medium sections have been registered in Kodagu district, where households are few and far between.
While some schools have admitted more than the sanctioned strength of 30 students per section, there are 13 schools that have seen no admissions to English-medium sections. A majority of the schools — 623 — have a student strength of between 21 and 30 in their English-medium sections. One school in Bengaluru North has more than 120 students.
Many government school heads have attributed the poor student strength in Kannada-medium sections to the opening of English-medium sections. Owing to pressure from parents and members of the School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC), some school managements have opened more than one English-medium section using local resources.
Officials of the department pointed out that the poor response in some English-medium schools can be attributed to the delay in the announcement of schools which would have these sections. “Many parents had already completed admissions for their wards by the time the announcement for English-medium sections was made,” a senior official said. Teachers in government schools also said that the amendment to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, which does not make it mandatory for private unaided schools to admit economically backward class students if there are government or aided schools in the same locality, has helped increase enrolment in English-medium sections.
Mullahalli Suri, president of Parents’ Association, hailed the government’s decision to start English-medium classes. “The move will not only help improve student strength in government schools, but will also help parents from poor economic backgrounds access English-medium education at zero cost.”