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Bengaluru, May 28: A thousand government schools in Karnataka are set to get Englishmedium sections from this academic year (2020-21). These institutions will function in both English and Kannada medium.

The decision was taken by primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar and officials of the education department at a meeting on Wednesday.

Suresh Kumar said dualmedium will help improve the standard of schools and enable their development. The poorest of the poor spend almost 40% of their income on their children’s education in private schools. With the introduction of dual-medium, the government hopes such families will be able to save their earnings, he said. These schools will impart lessons in both English and Kannada. They will also provide textbooks in both languages.

‘Kannada must for all’

The meeting reviewed implementation of the compulsory Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015. Officials from the Kannada Development Authority were present at the meeting who claimed that some private schools have failed to implement the Act properly.

“Action will be taken against such institutions. Every child studying in schools across the state must learn Kannada,” Kumar said at the meeting.

Bengaluru, Jul 26: The government of Karnataka has urged the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha in a simple manner and follow all guidelines amid mounting cases of covid-19.

The festival, also known as Bakrid, will be celebrated on July 31 in coastal districts of Karnataka and on August 1 in other parts of Karnataka. 

In an order, A B Ibrahim, secretary of the department of minority welfare, Hajj and Waqf has prohibited offering Eid prayers in open grounds (Eidgahs) in the wake of pandemic.

Eid prayers can be offered in mosques by following all the necessary precautionary measures including maintaining physical distance. The congregation should not exceed 50 worshippers. If they number exceeds, they should be divided into three groups. 

However, except for mosques, no other places should be used for offering congregational prayer. 

Besides, all those who attend Eid prayers at mosque should compulsorily wear face masks. Entry is banned for people who are above the age of 60 years and below the age of 10. At least six feet distance needs to be maintained while offering prayer.

Thermal scanning needs to be done before entering the mosque. Hands need to be washed in soap or sanitizer. No one should touch the holy books in the mosque. Hand shaking and embracing to greet will also not be allowed. If any strangers are seen, their movement should be monitored.

Bengaluru, Jan 6: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would not get involved in any 'wicked act' of bringing down the B S Yediyurappa-led government in Karnataka, amid claims that 15 to 20 BJP MLAs were ready to come out.

Clarifying that he would not disturb the government, the former Chief Minister said for him, the development of the state was important. "With great difficulty, you (Yediyurappa) have become Chief Minister for the fourth time, (I am) happy, I have nowhere said that I will disturb your government. Even now some people come and ask why I'm sitting silent when 15-20 people are ready to come out of BJP and why don't I make an attempt (to poach them), Kumaraswamy said. Speaking to reporters in Hassan, he sought to know why he should get entangled in that 'sludge' and he was not in a hurry.

"I will not get involved in a wicked act of removing a responsible government like Yediyurappa did. For me the development of the state is important," he said.

Though Kumaraswamy had raised questions about the longevity of the BJP government ahead of the December 5 bypolls, he had even then given clear indications that he would not attempt to pull down the administration as it would affect the development of the state.

The ruling BJP had swept the by-elections by winning 12 of the total 15 seats, helping the Yediyurappa government retain the majority in the Assembly.

With BJP winning 12 of the 15 assembly constituencies, it's numbers went up from 105 (including an independent) to 117, which is well ahead of the halfway mark of 111 in a 223-member Assembly (two seats-- Maski and R R Nagar-- are vacant due to pending litigation in the High Court).

The BJP came to power after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed as 17 MLAs had rebelled against the alliance leadership and resigned as legislators, to later favour the saffron party.