Karnataka UG, PG students can now write exams in mix of English, Kannada: Education minister

NEW DELHI: Karnataka State Higher Education Council has decided to allow undergraduate and postgraduate students to write examinations in both Kannada and English, the state education minister Ashwathnarayan CN said.

The decision was taken during the general meeting of the Higher Education Council held on Wednesday. As per the earlier norms, Karnataka UG, PG students were allowed to write the semester exams either in Kannada or in English. Now, the students will be able to write the exams in English, Kannada or a mix of both the languages.

The council also announced to translate books on all subjects into Kannada as directed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in line with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) aspiration to offer higher education in regional languages.

Steps will also be taken to provide adequate arrangements for tribal studies in the Karnataka State Folklore University instead for a new tribal university, the minister said.

UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar on December 7 met international publishers to discuss translation of undergraduate-level English textbooks in Indian languages.

The step to translate books in regional languages was introduced to help students from rural areas to better understand the subjects. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) last year began deliberations on translation of technical books to Indian languages.

Several states have also started taking steps to translate MBBS, engineering textbooks in their respective regional languages.