Don’t Introduce Third Language In Class 9: SC On CBSE’s 3-Language Policy

Supreme Court judge Justice BV Nagarathna on Thursday said that introducing the third language in Class 9 under the CBSE curriculum is a "bad" idea as students are already under enough pressure preparing for their board exams.

During a court hearing, the judge suggested that if students have to learn a third language, it should be introduced much earlier, ideally in Class 6. She pointed out that by Class 9, students are already under the stress of board exams and adding a completely new language at that stage only adds to their stress.

"The State language has to be taught, English has to be taught and any third language. It doesn't say Hindi," Live Law quoted the apex court as observing.

When Advocate G. Priyadarshini pointed out that no language should be imposed on any state as per the National Education Policy, Justice Nagarathna asked, "You don't want Hindi, but if it's Sanskrit, what is the issue?".

The Counsel for the State informed the apex court that the third language becomes compulsory only from Class 9.

She responded, "No, that is very bad. Ninth standard is stressful. Why do you introduce a new language in 9th? You introduce it in 6th."

Speaking from her own experience, Justice Nagarathna recalled that when she was in school back in the 1970s, students started learning their third language in middle school. "The earlier, the better," she remarked, adding that students now face even more pressure than they did in her time.

The Supreme Court asked the Centre not to make the third language mandatory in 9th standard. The court observed, "CBSE, ICSE, State Board, 10th standard is a board exam. From the end of 8th standard onwards, the pressure starts."

The judge made the remarks while the court was hearing a case about setting up Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government has been opposing these schools because they follow a three-language policy, while Tamil Nadu has its own two-language system (Tamil and English).

Earlier, Tamil Nadu government had argued that its education system works perfectly well with just Tamil and English. The state has built 38 model residential schools of its own, spending about ₹50 crore on each school. Last year, 1,340 students from these schools got into top colleges, and several received international scholarships.

The state also pointed out that the central government hasn't released funds it promised for education; over ₹3,500 crore is pending, which has affected school programmes.

Advising the Tamil Nadu government not to oppose the Union Government's schemes, the judge said, "You may have your education system, but don't prevent the Central government schools," she told the State, later adding, "Don't have this attitude that it is the Union government, so why should we accept it."