Karnataka has announced a major change in its government school education system. From the academic year 2027-28 all government schools across the state will have Kannada-English bilingual classes so that students’ English proficiency increases and Kannada is given due importance also.
School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa made the announcement at a high level meeting with industrialists and CEOs on CSR partnerships in Karnataka’s education system held at Vidhana Soudha. Students from urban as well as rural background will get more exposure to English without moving away from their regional language.
“The government had planned to introduce bilingual education in all government schools from the 2026-27 academic year,” said the minister. “But it was delayed because teachers needed training so they could teach classes in both languages.”
The government has now decided to complete the preparations before introducing it across the state in 2027-28. It will start from Class 1 and students will be taught Kannada as well as English as part of their regular education.
Karnataka has 46757 government primary and high schools with a total of 43 lakh students in them. Of these, bilingual classes for Class 1 to 5 have been introduced in 9522 government schools already.
The minister also talked about the government’s efforts to strengthen public education system by introducing pre-primary education. LKG and UKG classes have been started in around 7,500 government schools.
He said the parents had responded positively to introducing these classes. In Kalyana Karnataka region LKG and UKG classes were introduced in 1008 government schools last year. Around 48,000 students enrolled within 42 days of the initiative.
Availability and training of teachers will be key to the new policy. The state government has begun recruiting about 10,000 teachers so far. Once recruited they will train with existing staff members in bilingual classroom instruction.
The government says that education in Kannada and English will help students understand subjects better and develop stronger communication skills. It is also expected to increase students’ confidence when applying for higher education and exploring future employment opportunities (i.e., English language proficiency).
Another reason for the move is enrolment in government schools. Parents prefer private schools because of English medium education facilities. Bilingual classes will make government schools more attractive while still providing accessible education (Karnataka).
However, the success of this initiative will depend on teacher training quality, classroom implementation and availability of appropriate learning materials.
With the statewide rollout in 2027–28 academic year Karnataka is gearing up for a big expansion of bilingual education. The government wants to build an education system where students can improve their English skills while keeping Kannada as the foundation.
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