Overview

• Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government is committed to a two-language system of Kannada alongside English for students through Class 5.
• The state has formally rejected the NEP 2020 three-language recommendation and is preparing its own education guidelines.
• Education falls under India’s Concurrent List, giving Karnataka legal authority to adapt or override central language directives.
• The Karnataka Congress, AAP Karnataka and the Kannada Development Authority have called for Hindi to be offered as an optional subject rather than a mandate.
• Maharashtra’s recent withdrawal of mandatory Hindi in primary classes prompted similar pushback in Karnataka and fueled its policy shift.