The Karnataka government has now reportedly decided to make Kannada a mandatory subject in higher education courses. According to a report by The New Indian Express, all higher education courses, including engineering, law and medicine, are likely to have Kannada as a mandatory subject from the coming academic year.The Karnataka State Council for Higher Education on Wednesday placed a proposal, submitted by the Kannada Development Authority, on the main agenda at a general body meeting and decided to bring in the changes from 2015-16. Officials told the newspaper that an expert committee will look into the level of Kannada, including for students from other states, which would be taught in such courses. In undergraduate courses, Kannada will be a compulsory subject for the first four semesters, whereas in professional courses, like MBBS and LLB, Kannada will be mandatory in the first two semesters, states the report. “The proposal has been accepted in principle and approved by all vice-chancellors. We will soon form an expert committee to provide the guidelines to write text books,” Dr L Hanumanthaiah, chairman, Kannada Development Authority, told the newspaper. An official notification will be issued by the Higher Education Department after a report is submitted.