The Karnataka Congress government has decided to introduce bilingual education in government schools across 15 districts from the 2026–27 academic year, expanding its earlier plan to introduce English education from the LKG level, as reported in News18.
According to a fresh government directive, schools that had already received departmental approval for bilingual education would now also introduce an Urdu-English bilingual medium from the current academic year. The move is aimed at strengthening students’ English communication skills while continuing instruction in regional languages.
The government stated that teachers had already undergone special training programmes to effectively implement bilingual teaching in classrooms. Under the initiative, English lessons would begin from the LKG stage so that children studying in government schools could develop confidence in speaking and understanding English at an early age.
Parents were encouraged to enrol their children in government schools, with the government highlighting that quality education was being provided free of cost. Admissions for the new academic year have already commenced.
ರಾಜ್ಯದ 15 ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗಳ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಶಾಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಶೈಕ್ಷಣಿಕ ಸಾಲಿನಿಂದಲೇ (2026-27) ದ್ವಿಭಾಷಾ ತರಗತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರಿಗೆ ಸೂಕ್ತ ತರಬೇತಿ ಕೂಡ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಕೆಜಿಯಿಂದಲೇ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಪಾಠ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಲಿದ್ದು, ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಶಾಲಾ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಆತ್ಮವಿಶ್ವಾಸದಿಂದ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ನಲ್ಲಿ… pic.twitter.com/RRS4HwgvH0
— School Education & Literacy Department Karnataka (@ShalaShikshana) May 17, 2026
Meanwhile, preparations are under way in Dakshina Kannada district to introduce Kannada-English bilingual education in 896 government primary schools from June 1 for the 2026–27 academic year, according to a report published by The Hindu. The distribution of bilingual textbooks for Mathematics and Environmental Studies has already begun.
Teachers in the district have been carrying out enrolment drives since May 13 in government primary schools, including 20 PM SHRI schools and nine Karnataka Public Schools (KPS). As per government guidelines, children seeking admission to Class 1 must be at least five years and 10 months old as of June 1.
Deputy Director of Public Instruction, Dakshina Kannada, G. Shashidhara, stated that government primary school teachers were fully prepared to handle bilingual teaching. He said that 1,541 teachers from seven education blocks had completed five days of specialised training between March and April. He further stated that an additional one-day training programme would be conducted on May 29 and 30, focusing on transition activities for students of Classes 1 and 2.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
