In a twist to the tale of a teacher who only knew Malayalam being appointed to a Kannada-medium school in Kasaragod district of Kerala, she has now been asked to demonstrate her Kannada proficiency in a classroom on Monday in the presence of Education Department officials.
The teacher, who has been appointed to teach Social Studies, had been sent back by the school authorities on June 3 after protests by students over her lack of Kannada language skills. The appointment in the Government Higher Secondary Kannada Medium School at Adoor in Kasaragod district had raised tensions and the issue had been temporarily resolved with police intervention. The matter had then been taken up by the Kannada and Culture Department and the Karnataka Border Area Development Authority, which shot off a letter in protest against the appointment of non-Kannada teachers in Kannada-medium schools in Kasaragod district that shares border with Karnataka.
Other teachers pitching in
The authority’s member-secretary Prakash Mattihalli told The Hindu that the teacher, who had been sent off on June 3 returned to rejoin the school on Friday. “Though she has certificates in Kannada proficiency, she was unable to communicate when she joined earlier. She has been asked to prove her Kannada proficiency on Monday in a classroom setting,” he said. For now, in the absence of a Social Studies teacher, the official said other teachers in the school had stepped in to teach the subject.
Such appointments are not new in the district. The Karnataka government has repeatedly raised the issue with the Kerala government in the past. Last year, Karnataka had even complained to the Assistant Commissioner of Linguistic Minorities, Southern Zone of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, over the issue after which Kerala said that non-Kannada speaking teachers are to be avoided from being posted to Kannada-medium schools.
Minister’s letter
Meanwhile, Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj S. Tangadagi has written to Kerala Education Minister K. Sivan Kutty, drawing attention to the February 2023, meeting of Kannada Border Area Development Authority officials with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan where the issues of Kasaragod Kannadigas, including teacher appointments, had been raised. He has urged the Kerala government to appoint a Kannada-speaking teacher to the school at the earliest since it is a sensitive matter.
