The decision taken by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to make board exams mandatory for Class 10 students was right and inevitable, but its directive to schools on the implementation of the three-language formula was wrong and unnecessary. The Board has done well to drop the five-year-old policy of optional examinations which had invited much opposition. The continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system which was to replace examinations did not work well for various reasons. There was no preparation and teachers were not trained for it. It was difficult to implement in overcrowded schools with too few teachers. Neither the students nor the parents wanted the new system. Results in terms of marks are important for students in a competitive environment. State boards did not follow the CBSE’s advice and stuck to the exam system, and even in CBSE schools many students opted for exams. Most state governments also wanted the exam system to return. The CCE is perhaps an idea whose time has not come, and a return to exams would be welcomed by most.
But the Board’s directive on implementation of the three-language formula up to Class 10 has raised fears about imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit on unwilling schools and students. The formula actually envisages the study of a regional language, English and a modern Indian language as the third language. The third language is taught up to the eighth standard but the Board wants to extend it to Class 10. The controversial and objectionable part of the proposal is to make Sanskrit compulsory in North India and Hindi in South India. Sanskrit does not come within the framework of the three-language formula. It is a modern South Indian language that should be taught as third language in North India. But both in the North and the South a European language is taught as third language. There was a controversy when the government tried to replace this with Sanskrit two years ago. There will be opposition now also.
Though HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has denied any move to impose any language, it has not stilled all doubts. Any move to impose Hindi will raise passions in non-Hindi states, especially in the South. Atavistic language agitations are now in the past. But they have great divisive and dangerous potential, and still simmer under the surface. The government should not try to reignite them. The NDA government’s love of Sanskrit and Hindi is well-known. It is part of its politics too. But it should leave the choice of language to students and parents in everybody’s best interest.
But the Board’s directive on implementation of the three-language formula up to Class 10 has raised fears about imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit on unwilling schools and students. The formula actually envisages the study of a regional language, English and a modern Indian language as the third language. The third language is taught up to the eighth standard but the Board wants to extend it to Class 10. The controversial and objectionable part of the proposal is to make Sanskrit compulsory in North India and Hindi in South India. Sanskrit does not come within the framework of the three-language formula. It is a modern South Indian language that should be taught as third language in North India. But both in the North and the South a European language is taught as third language. There was a controversy when the government tried to replace this with Sanskrit two years ago. There will be opposition now also.
Though HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has denied any move to impose any language, it has not stilled all doubts. Any move to impose Hindi will raise passions in non-Hindi states, especially in the South. Atavistic language agitations are now in the past. But they have great divisive and dangerous potential, and still simmer under the surface. The government should not try to reignite them. The NDA government’s love of Sanskrit and Hindi is well-known. It is part of its politics too. But it should leave the choice of language to students and parents in everybody’s best interest.