BENGALURU: The reported closure of Kannada-medium schools in Goa has triggered growing concerns in Karnataka, with educationists, politicians and Kannada activists urging the Shivakumar government to intervene, warning that the issue extends beyond education and touches upon the linguistic and cultural rights of thousands of Kannadigas living across the border.
Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who hails from Belagavi district, told The New Indian Express that Kannada is the mother tongue of lakhs of Kannadigas who have been residing in Goa and preference should be given to the medium of instruction in Kannada.
“Kannada medium schools should be protected. I will speak to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar about it. There are about 4-5 lakh Kannadigas mostly from neighbouring Uttar Kannada and Belagavi residing in Goa,” Satish added.
Former Primary Education Minister and MLC Adagur H Vishwanath, who had initiated the opening of Kannada-medium schools in Goa and parts of southern Maharashtra during his tenure, said the institutions represented a vital link between Kannada-speaking families and their mother tongue.
“These schools impart education in Kannada and must be protected,” Vishwanath said.
Former Primary Education Minister and MLA S Suresh Kumar also called for a sensitive approach to the issue, saying linguistic identity in border regions required careful handling rather than administrative rigidity.
“Schools in border areas need sensitive handling because families living there have deep emotional attachments to their mother tongue. Every State Government should respect these sentiments.
The Goa government, too, must deal with this issue with the sensitivity it deserves and protect these schools,” he said.
The renewed debate follows a memorandum submitted by Sri Shantalinga Swamiji, head of the Kannada Sahitya and Cultural Forum, urging Shivakumar to take up the matter with the Goa government. The memorandum alleges that the Goa government, citing the National Education Policy, has already shut down four Kannada-medium schools, while 17 others are functioning without Kannada teachers.
It also expresses concern over reported remarks by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that schools must adapt to the new education policy, arguing that such an approach has created anxiety among Kannada-speaking communities residing in Goa’s border regions.