New Delhi: After students of Classes 7-9, those studying in Class 6 may also get a one time reprieve from appearing for a third language paper when they take their Class X board exams.
On Wednesday, the Centre assured the Supreme Court of prompt consultations to grant current Class 6 students the reprieve. It also has “an issue” with classifying English as an indigenous language, the Centre said.
Appearing before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who stood in for Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
A meeting would be convened “today or tomorrow” with the officials concerned in Bhati’s presence to decide on the Class 6 relief, he informed the Court.
When senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, pressed for an order on shifting English to the “non-native” or foreign language category, Mehta responded, “We have an issue about that. We would like to make submissions on that”, as reported by Deccan Herald.
He sought a short adjournment as Bhati could not address the Court due to a personal difficulty. The hearing was adjourned to September 17.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, also for the petitioners, flagged growing anxiety among parents and urged the Court against further delays.
The Court, during a previous hearing, had directed the CBSE to consider relieving the present Class 6 batch from writing the third-language examination in Class 10.
As per the CBSE guidelines, students in Classes 7 to 9 stand exempted, while the current Class 6 cohort is set to face full implementation of the three-language scheme, culminating in a mandatory Class 10 board exam by 2031.
While observing that the three-language formula would eventually have to be implemented, the bench stressed the need for better streamlining.
“You have to give some time not only for students but also for infrastructure to come on par across the various education boards. It is a good policy to start with the mother tongue, then an indigenous language, and then another indigenous or foreign language. But all this should be started when the children are a little younger, in a lower class, giving them time to adapt,” Justice Bagchi remarked.
The Court had sought instructions from Bhati on three specific points: whether a one-time reprieve could be extended to the current Class 6 batch; how human resources could be built to support the three-language scheme; and whether the scheme should ideally be introduced in earlier classes.
The court has also issued notice to the government on petitions filed by minority schools challenging the implementation of the three-language scheme.
