In 2006, ahead of the Dussehra school break, the Primary Education Department under the JDS-BJP Government in Karnataka issued immediate closure notices to over 1000 schools for violating the 1994 rule. The rule had made it compulsory for schools to teach in the local language, Kannada or the ‘mother tongue’ from standard one to five. The closure notices were subsequently revoked under public pressure.

In June last year a Division Bench of the High Court had ordered schools that had started with only Kannada as the medium of instruction to pay fines to illegally switch to English. The move was in line with a Government scheme that ensured state recognition. The Court also gave these schools the option of switching to Kannada or the child’s mother tongue as the medium of instruction from class I to stay in line with the law.