Karnataka govt school Hindi teachers fret as language gets 'graded down'

The Karnataka government’s decision not to consider the third language marks for the final score, apparently to reduce academic pressure on the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) students, has left thousands of Hindi teachers in government high schools worried.

According to them, if marks for a third language like Hindi are not considered for the examination results, students will not take it seriously.

“Education without evaluation is meaningless,” they lamented.

Over 6,500 Hindi teachers

Currently, there are 3,000 permanent Hindi teachers working in government primary schools and 3,500 in high schools in Karnataka. The future of the high school teachers of the subject is uncertain since it will only see a grading system in the crucial SSLC exam.

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The Hindi teachers’ association has also expressed concerns. K Ramamurthy, general secretary of the Karnataka State Primary School Hindi Teachers Association, told The Federal Karnataka, “The government's decision has dealt a big blow to Hindi teachers. Hindi can be taught, but if there is no assessment, students will not be serious while teaching in the classroom.”

But, is it the high school teachers who are at a bigger loss here? According to Ramamurthy, since the basic qualification required for the primary school teachers is TCH (Teacher Certificate Higher), the Hindi teachers in the primary school can teach some other subjects.

However, it is not just Hindi that has found itself at the receiving end. Even Kannada teachers, who teach the subject as a third language in schools that follow minority-language medium, such as Marathi, Urdu and Konkani, will face problems. Certain quarters fear that the government’s decision would also negatively impact the learning of the state language in minority-language medium schools.

'Unnecessary burden on children'

However, some voices have supported the use of grades rather than marks for Hindi language evaluation. Kannada Development Authority Chairman Purushottam Bilimale told The Federal Karnataka that the government’s decision was right and called the subject “an unnecessary burden” on children. He also said that the Hindi teachers need not fear anything.

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“The education minister (Madhu Bangarappa) has said that teachers teaching Hindi will not face any problems. Teachers teaching Hindi are from our Karnataka. They also have the opportunity to do other work in the school. Teachers teaching Hindi will not face any problems,” Bilimale said.

Many pro-Kannada organisations have also welcomed the move.

Teachers' bodies on warpath

Various teachers’ bodies are not convinced and are gearing up to take on the government over the decision. Venu Manvi, a member of Karnataka State High School Hindi Teachers Association, told The Federal Karnataka website that legal steps have also been taken against the decision, and Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot has also been approached.

Fourteen members of the state Legislative Council from the graduate and teacher constituencies have also been taken into confidence, he said, adding the teachers’ bodies have also met over the matter.

According to Manvi, the decision to ignore the third-language marks will not only make things difficult for the Hindi teachers but also those in other languages such as Sanskrit, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Konkani, and Tulu, among others.

Recruitment may get hit

Teachers’ recruitment could come to a halt if marks of the Hindi language are not considered in the SSLC results, for their requirements will be less if the subject only gets a grade. That would jeopardise the livelihoods of several thousand teachers in the state, said Manvi.

Karnataka doesn't have a large number of Hindi teachers’ posts in government high schools as is. Of the sanctioned number of 5,060, only 3,532 posts are filled. Guest teachers are brought in from time to time to run the show. The current rule could see that number nosedive even more.

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As per the state’s Cadre and Recruitment Rules of 2017, primary school Hindi co-teachers are considered as PST (primary school teacher for Classes 1 to 5) Hindi teachers. However, the subject is not taught in classes 1 to 5.

MLC writes to state official

Since Hindi starts from Class 6, in the interest of qualitative education of children and academic interest of children, the PST Hindi teachers should be considered as GPT (Class 6 to 8) teachers, said S V Sankanura, a Member of the state Legislative Council from the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

In a letter to the principal secretary of the state’s public instruction department, he said that, besides opining that Hindi teachers should be considered as PST Kannada teachers since the basic qualification of teachers in both languages is the same.

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Responding to this, Bangarappa said that since the Hindi language is not available for classes 1 to 5 in government primary schools, Hindi teachers who were previously appointed on the basis of PUC, TCH, and D.Ed qualifications have been merged into the primary school teaching cadre.

Bangarappa announced the decision to grant grades in the third language at a press conference last month, igniting the debate over the protest against an alleged ‘imposition of Hindi’ and shifting to a ‘two-language policy’.

(The article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka.)