As the 2025–26 academic year approaches, Karnataka’s education landscape remains firmly anchored to its long-standing language policy. Today, the Department of School Education and Literacy officials confirmed once again that there are no new amendments to the two-language system that has been in place (with minor tweaks) since the Karnataka State Education Policy 2020–21.

Here’s what the policy continues to say:

• Kannada (or the child’s mother tongue, if different) must remain the primary medium of instruction from Class 1 to Class 5 in all government and aided schools.
• From Class 6 onwards, schools may switch to English-medium if they wish, but Kannada must still be taught as a compulsory language.
• Private unaided schools have slightly more flexibility, but even they are expected to teach Kannada as either the first or second language throughout schooling.

In short: rumours of a shift to a mandatory three-language formula or the complete removal of the Class 1–5 mother-tongue clause have been put to rest — at least for now.

Why this matters in 2025

1. Massive shift toward private English-medium schools continues
   Despite the policy, enrolment in private English-medium schools (especially low-fee and mid-segment ones) has been growing at 8–12% year-on-year in urban and semi-urban Karnataka. Parents routinely cite “future job prospects” and “global competitiveness” as the main reasons for bypassing government Kannada-medium schools.
2. The urban-rural divide is widening
   In rural Karnataka, government schools still dominate, and the two-language policy works reasonably well because most children already speak Kannada (or Tulu, Kodava, Konkani, etc.) at home.
   In cities like Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Mysuru, however, many middle-class families speak a mix of English, Hindi, and Kannada at home. For them, forcing Kannada-medium instruction until Class 5 feels like an unnecessary hurdle.
3. This is pushing even Kannadiga families toward private English-medium schools.
4. Implementation fatigue
   Schools that tried to strictly follow the 2020 guidelines (especially newly converted “English-medium” government schools that were asked to revert sections back to Kannada) have faced parental backlash, teacher shortages, and textbook delays. Several schools quietly continue teaching in English while showing Kannada-medium records during inspections — a poorly kept secret in the system.

What parents are actually doing

• Enrolling children in CBSE/ICSE schools that teach Kannada only as a second or third language (perfectly legal for unaided private schools).
• Opting for “English-medium” sections in government Model Primary Schools where they exist (these sections are oversubscribed within hours of opening).
• Choosing newly mushrooming state-syllabus private schools that promise “English medium from Class 1” but keep one or two Kannada-medium sections on paper to satisfy the rules.

Will the policy ever change?

The political cost of appearing “anti-Kannada” is extremely high for any ruling party in the state. Pro-Kannada groups remain vocal and well-organized. At the same time, the aspirational middle class (which now forms a sizable voting bloc even in rural constituencies) wants English-medium education from Day 1.

Successive governments have dealt with this contradiction by announcing strict rules on paper and then allowing quiet non-compliance on the ground. Expect more of the same unless a future government decides to spend serious political capital on either side.

Bottom line for parents in 2025–26

• If you want strict adherence to Kannada-medium till Class 5 → government or aided schools are your safest (and cheapest) bet.
• If you want English-medium from nursery or Class 1 → private CBSE/ICSE or certain state-syllabus private schools remain the practical choice, policy or no policy.
• Kannada as a language will stay compulsory everywhere — start building that foundation early, because the SSLC Kannada paper isn’t getting any easier.

The Karnataka State Education Policy has not budged today, and it probably won’t budge tomorrow. But the ground reality in classrooms across the state continues to evolve faster than the files in Vidhana Soudha.

Stay informed, choose wisely, and keep speaking Kannada at home — your children will thank you either way.

  Karnataka State Education Policy, Two-Language Formula