Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy has urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to introduce Konkani as a medium of education in the state.
The academy made the request in the context of the proposed national educational policy (NEP) that lays stress on education in the mother tongue.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, the academy noted that there were over 25 lakh Konkani-speaking people in the state.
People belonging to three religions and 42 communities presently use the language.
The NEP states that the medium of instruction until at least Class V should be the mother tongue or regional language.
The academy requested that Konkani be used as a medium of education up to Class V and offered as a subject for classes above.
The academy also requested the government to include Konkani as a subject for courses like B.Ed and M.Ed and appoint more Konkani educators.
Konkani has already been added as a third language for interested students till Class X on an optional basis in both Kannada and Devanagari scripts.