Ex-Maharashtra minister moves SC against CBSE's three-language mandate for class 9 students from July 1
New Delhi, June 9
A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the CBSE's decision to implement a three-language policy for Class 9 students from July 1.
The petition, filed by educationist and former Maharashtra minister Fauzia Khan, contended that the May 15 CBSE circular is arbitrary and unreasonable, adding that mandating Hindi or Sanskrit in non-Hindi-speaking states is contrary to the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Khan, who belongs to the NCP-SCP party, said that while the CBSE circular itself acknowledges a shortage of language teachers, it nevertheless mandates implementation of the three-language formula.
As a result, the petitioner said, the policy effectively compels schools in southern states to introduce Hindi and those in northern states to introduce Sanskrit, without providing any clear educational justification.
The apex court on May 27 had issued notice on a plea challenging the CBSE policy mandating the study of three languages.
The CBSE, through a May 15 circular, made the study of three languages compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1, with at least two of the three languages required to be native Indian languages.
Students opting for a foreign language can do so only after studying two Indian languages or as an additional fourth language.
The policy was introduced as part of CBSE's alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I actually support the three-language policy - it brings national integration. But the CBSE's implementation is hasty and poorly planned. My daughter is in class 9 in Bangalore, and her school already has Kannada and English. Adding Hindi now would overwhelm students who are already preparing for board exams. The government should phase this in gradually and ensure adequate teacher training first.
Moved to Mumbai from the UK last year for work. This policy seems like a bureaucratic nightmare. We already struggle with Marathi at home alongside English. Three languages in class 9? It's like they want students to fail. My kid is already stressed about science and math. The education system here needs flexibility, not rigid mandates.
Interesting how this former minister Fauzia Khan is speaking up now, but where were such voices when the NEP 2020 was being designed? But I agree with her on one thing - you can't just mandate three languages without providing resources. In Karnataka, we don't have enough Hindi teachers. Either fix the infrastructure or drop the unrealistic deadlines. Common sense should prevail. 😤
Living in Kerala, I see both sides. Yes, regional language pride is important. But we also need to prepare our children for a national job market where Hindi helps. The real issue is the sudden implementation. July 1st is just weeks away! Schools don't have curriculum ready, teachers are unprepared. The Supreme Court should ask CBSE to push this to 2025-26 and first conduct proper pilot programs in different states.
Worked in Indian education
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