Over 4,000 Karnataka govt schools to introduce English-medium sections amid soaring demand

In response to the growing preference for English-medium education, the Department of School Education and Literacy in Karnataka has approved bilingual instruction—English alongside Kannada—in 4,134 government schools across the state. This marks a significant expansion of the bilingual initiative, which began in 2019-20.

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In Bengaluru alone, 1,103 of the 1,465 government schools in the North and South regions have received approval. Specifically, 730 schools in Bengaluru South and 373 in Bengaluru North, all beginning from Class 1, are set to implement the dual-medium approach.

The selection process saw 11,555 applications from 33 educational districts. From each taluk, the 15 schools with the highest student enrolment were chosen for inclusion. This academic year (2024-25), 2,000 additional schools received approval to launch English-medium sections, building on the 2,405 schools already operating such sections since the initiative’s inception.

To support the transition, the department plans to deploy guest lecturers and conduct teacher training through the Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) and the Regional Institute of English. However, concerns remain over training quality and support for guest teachers, many of whom lack formal preparation for English-medium instruction.

Experts stress the need for robust teacher training and mentoring to ensure quality education, particularly in newly introduced English sections.