Move to stop teaching German ill-advised

The Union  Human Resource Development Ministry’s directive to Kendriya Vidyalayas to stop teaching of German as an alternative to Sanskrit as the third language is wrong and against the principles of an open and liberal education policy.

It is another sign of a creeping ideological agenda being introduced into syllabus and teaching in the country’s educational institutions.

HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who heads the board of governors of KVs, has defended the decision, claiming that it was taken in national interest, but it is difficult to see how the learning of a foreign language hurts the national interest.

She has also clarified that students can opt for a modern Indian language as the third language. But this may not be practical and is unlikely to be accepted by many students.

There are already facilities for teaching of German in many schools and 70,000-80,000 students are learning it.

The abrupt stoppage of German classes in the middle of the academic year leaves them in the lurch also. It shows insensitivity and bad management of education.

A new language opens a new world to students. Learning a foreign language is especially an attractive opportunity to students in a globalising milieu as it will be useful to them in their future careers and lives.

The popularity of German as a language in schools is proof of that. It is, in fact, necessary to give children opportunities to study other world languages in their schools.

Many private schools do that. Misplaced and narrow nationalistic considerations should not be used to smother the aspirations of students.

The HRD ministry and its counterparts in BJP-ruled states have actively tried to change the content and contours of curricula in accordance with their tinted and narrow view of the country’s past.

Rewriting and even denial of history and imposition of a wrong view of the world are part of the exercise. The banishment of German is of a piece with that policy.

Sanskrit is a great language and is part of India’s legacy. But the choice to study that or any other language should be left to the students.

The dropping of German as an optional language was taken up by German chancellor Angela Merkel in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brisbane.

But the Prime Minister’s response that the issue would be looked into within the confines of the Indian system would only leave German or other foreign languages out of government schools.

The Indian system denotes the three-language formula which technically does not give scope for teaching of non-Indian languages. It was created in the 196Os and needs to be updated now.