Declining Enrollment, Teacher Shortage Affect Kannada Medium Schools Along Karnataka-Maharashtra Border – News18
With one school for every 42 students, the Marathi medium schools have a superior student to school ratio
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Due to a lack of qualified teachers, children may be drawn away from Kannada medium schools and towards better choices such as English and Marathi medium schools
The border region between Karnataka and Maharashtra has fewer Kannada schools because of a student shortage, inadequate infrastructure, and growing student preference for English-medium schools. There are several causes for this disinterest towards Kannada medium schools. The absence of fundamental resources, such as a teacher shortage, is causing a decline in the number of students enrolling in Kannada language schools, as the medium does not provide employment.
One government primary school serving 115 Kannada-speaking pupils is located in each of the taluks of Khanapur and Nippani, according to department sources cited in a Times of India report. With one school for every 42 students, the Marathi medium schools have a superior student to school ratio.
The four districts that make up the state’s border area of Karnataka and Maharashtra have more than 270 Kannada-medium schools. These schools provide education to about 30,000 Kannada students.
Notably, there is still a 500-teacher shortfall even with 1,150 instructors employed at the moment. According to reports, the government has failed to assign teachers to Kannada language schools for the past 13 years. Due to a lack of qualified teachers, children may be drawn away from Kannada medium schools and towards better choices such as English and Marathi medium schools.
To address the low turnout in Kannada medium schools, Mohankumar Hanchate, deputy director for school education and literacy, was quoted by TOI as saying that under government regulations, schools with less than 10 students must be closed or merged with other schools. “It is true that already more than 15 schools in both educational districts have been closed,” he said.
There is no distinction in the standing of Kannada-medium government schools between the educational districts of Chikodi and Belagavi. However, Kannada medium schools are in shambles throughout the Maharashtra – Karnataka state border regions.
At the moment, Khanapur taluk has 206 Marathi-language government primary schools and 90 Kannada-language government schools. Around 10,200 students receive elementary education in Kannada and 8,900 in Marathi. Six of the ten government high schools in Nippani Taluk are Marathi medium high schools while the remaining four schools provide education in Kannada and Urdu medium.
