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3-language formula: A failed policy makes a comeback

Last Updated 03 June 2019, 03:54 IST

K Kasturirangan committee in its Draft National Education Policy has pitched for implementation of three-language formula in schools across the country, recommending Hindi as one of the compulsory subjects for the students of non-Hindi speaking states, drawing huge protests from the southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu.

The panel has recommended for implementation of three-language formula in its spirit throughout the country, on the ground that it would promote multilingual communicative abilities among the school students in India, which is a multilingual country.

“In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English,” the panel suggested.

The committee has come up with this recommendation even though moves to impose Hindi in Southern states have witnessed a stiff resistance from the people, particularly those from Tamil Nadu, in past.

The three-language formula was first formulated by the central government in consultation with the states in 1968 and enunciated in the National Policy on Education.

This provided for the study of Hindi, English and any of the modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages in the Hindi-speaking states, and Hindi, English and one of the Indian languages in the non-Hindi speaking states.

However, the Tamil Nadu government under the then-chief minister C N Annadurai did not accept it and implemented two-language formula in the state.

The three-language formula has been a failure across the country for many reasons which include a lack of teachers and interest among students.

The students in Hindi-speaking states are not keen on learning a language spoken in the South or other regions. In Southern states except for Tamil Nadu, students learn Hindi but they find English and the language spoken in their region more useful for their future than others.

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(Published 02 June 2019, 16:48 IST)

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