Pre-KG, additional bilingual sections to be started in government schools in Karnataka from 2024-25 academic year to encourage English medium education from primary level

Pre-KG, additional bilingual sections to be started in government schools in Karnataka from 2024-25 academic year to encourage English medium education from primary level

To encourage English medium education right from the primary level and to strengthen the learning ability of children in government schools, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has decided to start pre-primary classes (LKG and UKG) and additional English medium (bilingual) sections from class 1 in government schools across the Karnataka from the 2024-25 academic year.

The department has invited proposals from eligible government schools with details, including the number of students, availability of basic infrastructure, teachers and other facilities, and has given a deadline of February 28 for submission of proposals.

At present, there are 46,757 government primary and high schools across Karnataka. A total of 42,92,351 students are studying in them. There are a total of 2,686 bilingual schools with English medium, and a total of 2,79,343 students are studying in these schools.

Deputy Directors of the Department of Public Instruction (DDPIs) have submitted 613 proposals to the department seeking approval for bilingual sections from class 1 for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. The department is reviewing the proposals submitted for starting pre-primary schools in the year 2024-25. In addition, the department has invited proposals from further eligible schools.

Officials have been told that before the beginning of the academic year, a survey of areas with educational backwardness should be conducted and a proposal should be submitted for the start of pre-primary classes in the existing government schools, along with the bilingual (English medium) section from class 1.

In addition, they have been asked to submit proposals for upgradation of existing classes 1 to 5 to classes 6 to 8 or classes 1 to 7/8 to classes 9 and 10, and if there is a need to relocate or merge any schools due to shortage of students.

B.B. Cauvery, Commissioner of Department of Public Instruction, told The Hindu, “Proposals have been invited to start bilingual sections in government schools in rural and backward areas with good infrastructure, and a checklist of conditions is also provided. February 28 is the last date for submission of proposals. After verifying the checklist, the department will submit the proposal to the government to start bilingual sections and pre-primary schools in the eligible schools from the next academic year.”