No direction from state or central govt to select Hindi speaking students for tour programme

BENGALURU: Karnataka primary and secondary education minister BC Nagesh on Wednesday clarified that neither the state nor the central government has issued any directions regarding selecting Hindi-speaking students for the 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' tour programme.

The Minister's clarification came following controversy over a circular issued by the deputy director for the pre-university education department (Bengaluru South) instructing colleges to choose students who can speak Hindi for the tour. The circular has elicited sharp reactions alleging "Hindi imposition". "Neither the Centre nor the state government has given instruction that knowledge of Hindi or English language were mandatory for students to take part in a tour programme to other states, as part of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav (75 years of Independence)," Nagesh said in a tweet.

ಭಾರತ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯದ ಅಮೃತ ಮಹೋತ್ಸವ ಅಂಗವಾಗಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಿಂದ ಹೊರ ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರವಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳುವ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಿಂದಿ/ಇಂಗ್ಲೀಷ್ ಭಾಷೆ ಜ್ಞಾನ ಕಡ್ಡಾಯ ಎಂಬ ಸೂಚನೆಯನ್ನು ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸರ್ಕಾರವಾಗಲಿ, ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರವಾಗಲಿ ನೀಡಿಲ್ಲ.

ಈ ಗೊಂದಲಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾದ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ/ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಿಂದ ಶಿಸ್ತು ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

— B.C Nagesh (@BCNagesh_bjp) June 15, 2022

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The department will take disciplinary action against officials or staff responsible for creating confusion, he said. As part of the tour programme, a total of 50 students will be sent to Uttarakhand in a batch and an equal number of students will be travelling from the northern state to Karnataka. The contents of the purported circular which have gone viral state that, as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ under ' Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' a tour programme has been organised for students to other states, for which two students (a boy and a girl) from Bengaluru South district of the pre-university department have to be selected. It further states, "among the students studying in second year PUC at college, it has been instructed to select students who can speak Hindi, have an understanding of technology, and are interested in cultural and sports activities."

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The colleges have been directed in the circular to share the list of such students with the Deputy Director's office and the final selection of students will be done by the Deputy Director. Following the controversy Kannada Development Authority (KDA) Chairperson T S Nagabharana has written to the department urging it to change the criterion of selection and provide opportunity to students, who speak Kannada.