Senior writer and cultural thinker Professor K. Maralusiddappa asserted that Kannada must be accorded the highest recognition and warned that mere government patronage would not be sufficient to strengthen the language.
Addressing the 34th convocation (Nudi Habba) of Kannada University, Hampi, held at the ‘Navaranga’ open-air theatre in the Vidyaranya campus on February 24, Prof. Maralusiddappa said the idea of building an egalitarian society depended significantly on strengthening government schools. He observed that, in rural Karnataka, government schools function not merely as educational institutions but as cultural centres of village life and are crucial to realising the social aspirations enshrined in the Constitution.
While acknowledging that no one could object to learning English as a language, he cautioned against promoting English as the medium of instruction at the cost of regional languages. Referring to the government’s move to upgrade about 700 schools into Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), or ‘magnet schools’, he expressed concern over reports that neighbouring village primary schools might be permanently closed to consolidate resources. If such decisions led to shutting down local schools, he said, it would amount to a regressive step.
