BENGALURU: After teaching basic Kannada to 2,000 non-Kannadigas in 30 Kalika Kendras (learning centres) in places like the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and Reserve Bank of India in Bengaluru, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) is all set to open 100 such centres across Karnataka. In Bengaluru alone, 40 more centres will come up by the end of December.
Kannada Development Authority Chairman Purushotham Bilimale said that one centre will come up in an Urdu-dominated locality in Kalaburagi in coordination with Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner.
“The focus is on conversational Kannada. Thirty-eight hours of classes will be held in three months to teach basic Kannada,” Bilimale said, adding that the idea is not to take up literary Kannada works but just basic Kannada with a local touch.
KDA has a budget of Rs 2 crore for the promotion of Kannada and has 75 trained teachers who taught in 30 centres in Bengaluru last year.
“Earlier, some Kannada outfits had an issue with Kannada Development Authority spending money to teach Kannada to non-Kannadigas under the programme. So, KDA is also open to associations coming forward to fund the teaching of the state language. Recently, an association approached KDA to teach Kannada to 500 people from Jharkhand. They will only pay for three months of teaching,” Bilimale said.
The focus of Kannada Development Authority is mainly Bengaluru City owing to the heavy influx of migrants from other states. “In KGF taluk in Kolar district, there is a demand to set up a Kalika Kendra for the Tamil-speaking population. We will set it up soon,” he added.