Many government schools that have been granted permission to run English-medium sections for class 1 from this academic year are seeing a huge demand for these sections. On the other hand, there is low demand for a place in the Kannada-medium sections.

Although the admission process is under way as the schools started only this week, the demand is so high that many are considering conducting lottery to pick the names of students to be admitted in English-medium sections. The heads of the schools have been told to admit students in Kannada-medium sections if they do not get admission for English medium.

The Department of Primary and Secondary Education has given 1,000 government schools permission to start English-medium classes, and teachers have been trained to teach these classes.

Many of these schools are likely to see an increase in student strength from the previous academic year. Kavitha N., in charge of the Government Model Primary School, Hebbagodi, said the school, as on Friday, had completed 13 admissions — all for English-medium classes — and had received 12 enquiries for new admissions. “Most of the parents are migrant workers and will come back to town only next week. That is when our admissions will peak,” she said.

A Block Education Officer in the city said they would write to the Department of Public Instruction seeking permission to start another section. “We can accommodate around 30 students in one class. We will wait till the end of June and will write to the department to start another English-medium section in schools where admissions have crossed 50 in English-medium sections,” the official said. However, Education Department officials said this demand would not be entertained.

Manjunath K. Naik, head of Karnataka Public School in Tanakushnor, Aurad taluk, Bidar district, said they have completed five admissions in English medium and 20 in Kannada medium. “But now, parents who have admitted their children in Kannada medium want to shift to English medium, as those admissions were done in April when the government had still not announced the list of schools that would teach in English medium,” he said.

This government move is seen by many parents as a boon at a time the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules have been tweaked to prioritise government schools over private ones from this academic year. Ashok Gowda, an autorickshaw driver, said: “We were very worried when we learnt that we could not apply to private schools under the RTE quota. But I am glad that I can now educate my son in a government school that offers English medium, without paying any money.”