Majority of parents still have ‘British mentality’, says Karnataka education minister B C Nagesh

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August 25, 2022

Highlights

English will be taught as one of the languages in model schools that the government has planned to start. Though the medium of instruction in these schools is Kannada, the department has decided to teach English as a subject.
School Education and Literacy Minister B C Nagesh said that teaching English is necessary as a majority of parents still have “a British mentality”.
Speaking after inaugurating the renovated BBMP school buildings in Bengaluru by the Indian Academy group of educational institutions on Wednesday, the minister said: “The desire for the English language in the society is not different than in British times and considering that, we have decided to offer English as one of the language subjects at our model schools”.
The government is choosing one school at the gram panchayat level and upgrading it. The plan is to shift the kids from nearby villages to the model school, by providing transportation too. Currently, around 250-plus such schools have been identified across the state and will be ready by the 2023-24 academic year, he said.
Expressing helplessness over the maintenance of toilets at the government schools, Nagesh requested non-profit organisations and other interested individuals to chip in.
“The government has constructed and is ready to construct toilets at schools, but there is a lack of hygiene and maintenance. We need the help of NGOs to educate our children on hygiene and at the same time for the maintenance of toilets,” Nagesh mentioned.
The minister also requested the NGOs to chip in for academic adoption. He said, there is a need to address the shortage of teachers at government schools, in some particular subjects and interested organisations could join hands with the government.
The government’s education reforms adviser M R Doreswamy, Indian Academy group chairperson T Somashekar and BBMP officials were present. The group adopted 11 BBMP schools in Bengaluru and renovated five of them in the first phase.