Karnataka Border Development Authority officials will visit the two Maharashtra districts and submit a report.
Published Jun 24, 2024 | 6:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 24, 2024 | 6:04 PM
Representational Image (South First)
The Maharashtra government’s appointing Marathi teachers in state-run Kannada medium schools in areas bordering Karnataka is snowballing into controversy.
Kannada-speaking people residing in those areas demanding the Karnataka government intervene in the issue and make Maharashtra appoint Kannada teachers.
Eknath Shinde-led government has appointed 24 teachers in the Maharashtra-run Kannada medium schools in Solapur and Sangli districts. Kannada speakers dominate these two districts.
Pro-Kannada organisations said Maharashtra had appointed only seven Kannada teachers, filling the remaining vacancies with Marathi and Urdu teachers.
Raising concerns over effectively imparting lessons to students, they questioned how Marathi teachers would teach various subjects in Kannada.
The residents of Maharashtra’s Solapur and Sangli districts view the appointments as an intentional and unscientific move to impose Marathi to reduce the dominance of Kannada speakers.
They have approached the local MLAs and wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Karnataka Border Development Authority (KBDA), seeking their intervention.
Siddaramaiah has ordered KBDA officials to visit the two districts and listen to the people. The officials will hold talks with the people at Jath in Sangli and Akkalkota of Solapur on Monday, 24 June, and Tuesday.
After the meeting, they will submit a report to the Karnataka government.
Kannada Teachers’ Forum member Rajendra Biradar said the Maharashtra government has violated the rules by appointing Marathi teachers in that state’s Kannada medium schools.
“There are 140 Kannada-medium government schools, 50 aided Kannada schools, and 15 pre-university colleges in Jath taluka alone. Around 100 posts of Kannada teachers are vacant in these schools and colleges,” Biradar, a teacher at Sank village in Jath told South First.
“The Maharashtra government recently appointed 11 teachers in the Kannada schools. Among them, only four are Kannada, six are Marathi and one is an Urdu teacher. It is a clear violation of rules by the state government,” he said.
The teacher said they speak Kannada at home. “The students have zero knowledge about Marathi. How will the Marathi teachers teach in Kannada medium schools? What will the students understand?” he questioned.
Asserting that the students’ future could be put at risk, he demanded the appointment of Kannada teachers.
Sunil Pottadar of Umadi village in Jath said the Zilla Parishad had appointed a Marathi teacher in his village as well. “The people here follow Kannada culture and traditions more than those of Maharashtra’s.”
“Since this is a Kannada medium school, all subjects, except English and Hindi, will be taught in Kannada. How will Marathi teachers educate our children? Will they teach in Kannada?” Pottadar asked while vowing to fight until the government revokes the appointments.
A delegation of teachers and villagers, especially from Jatha, wrote a letter to Siddaramaiah, KBDA chairman Somanna Bevinamarada, and Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel to hold talks with their Maharashtra counterparts on the issue.
“The Karnataka government has helped us whenever we approached it with our concerns about livelihood and education. We have been informed that the officials from Karnataka will visit Jath and other border areas on 24 and 25 June,” Biradar said.
He claimed the Jath MLA, Vikramsinh Sawant, questioned the Zilla Parishad officials on the “unscientific” appointment of teachers.
In a letter to Siddaramaiah, Belagavi District Kannada Organisation Action Committee president Ashok Chandaragi demanded Karnataka’s immediate action to protect the interests of Kannada-speaking people in Maharashtra’s border areas.
“The state government provides all facilities to the state-run Marathi medium schools in Karnataka. The state, considering the interests of language minorities, has always appointed Marathi teachers in the schools,” he said.
Chandaragi said instead of reciprocating, the Maharashtra government appointed Marathi teachers in Kannada schools, affecting the interests of Kannada.
“This clearly shows the anti-Kannada stand by the neighbouring state,” Chandaragi opined.
“The appointment of Marathi teachers despite having hundreds of graduates in Bachelor of Education (in Kannada) and Diploma in Education (in Kannada) clearly shows the ill-intention of the Shinde government.”
“We demand our (Karnataka) government to stand firmly with the Kannada-speaking people in Sangli and Solapur,” he said.
On receiving the letters, Siddaramaiah directed the KBDA chairman to visit the border areas.
Chairman Somanna Bevinamarada and KBDA secretary Parakash Mattihalli will visit the government Kannada schools in Sangli and Solapur of Maharashtra.
Bevinamarada told South First that he, too, had brought the issue to the notice of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi.”
He further said that his team would visit the areas, assess the Kannada schools, and speak to local representatives before submitting a report.
“Jath MLA Vikramsinh has already spoken to me over the phone,” he said.
Bevinamarada said the Karnataka government would take up the matter with its Maharashtra schools based on the KBDA report.
“Such instances were reported from other border areas as well. The Kerala High Court has given the order against appointing Malayalam teachers in Kannada schools in Kasaragod and border areas. The Maharashtra government made the appointments in violation of the Constitution. We will make efforts to protect the interests of Kannadigas living in Maharashtra,” he assured.
(Edited by Majnu Babu)
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