Bengaluru: Hundreds of teachers protested at Freedom Park Monday against state govt’s decision to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) as an alternative to the third language in some high schools of the state.In a representation to govt, Deshiya Bhasha Hitarakshana Vedike said the move to introduce AI in school education was welcome, but making it a substitute for the third language would not be appropriate from the perspective of education or Karnataka’s multilingual tradition.“Language and technology are both essential for students,” the forum said, urging the govt to introduce AI as a separate skill-based or elective subject without affecting third-language education.The forum also raised concerns over govt’s July 14 draft notification on the recruitment to teaching posts in state-run high schools. It said the proposed recruitment of language teachers appeared to be restricted to Kannada and English, potentially affecting the teaching of other languages in govt schools.According to the representation, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Konkani, Tulu, Malayalam and Arabic have been taught in govt schools for several decades. Restricting the recruitment, it said, could affect students studying these languages as well as employment opportunities for qualified language teachers.It sought three measures: recruitment of high-school teachers for all recognised languages, creation of separate language-teacher posts based on the number of students studying each language, and introduction of AI as a separate subject rather than as a replacement for the third language.The forum said such measures would help preserve Karnataka’s multilingual education system while enabling students to acquire skills in emerging technologies.
