Reshma Ravishanker
The Karnataka government is all set to make learning Kannada as a language mandatory for all undergraduate degree courses with the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 from the current academic year.
In a state government notification that was released on Monday, it has been proposed that students will have to opt for Kannada as one of the subjects even in undergraduate degree colleges.
Along with the core discipline subjects the students opt for, students must study Kannada and another language of their choice besides opting open electives and discipline electives based on the curriculum structure.
For those students who have not studied Kannada in their PUC or class 12, syllabus is being readied to introduce them to the basics of the language. Such students will have a separate text.
The directive by the department of higher education states that students pursuing BA or BSc degrees from this academic year onwards will opt for two core discipline subjects. In their third year, students will be given an option to select either or both these core subjects as their major subjects for study.
Higher Education minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan had convened a day-long meeting with vice chancellors of various universities to discuss the implementation of NEP 2020 from the current academic year (2021-22).
The admission module, which will act as a framework to be followed by universities will be launched through the Unified University and College Management System (UUCMS) on August 23 where information regarding major subjects, minor subjects, core electives, open electives, vocational training, etc. will be provided in this module.