Updated: December 2, 2014 01:04 IST
An avoidable controversy
Sanskrit
The Union government’s attempt to replace German with Sanskrit
as the third language taught in Kendriya Vidyalayas for Classes VI to
VIII in the middle of an academic year is oblivious to the interests of
students as also to the need to ensure credibility in dealings with
other nations. Its explanation is that a memorandum of understanding
signed between the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) under the previous
regime with the Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan — to teach German as
a third language — is illegal and violative of the National Education
Policy. Several school systems in the country include foreign languages
such as French and German as even a second language, and so far no one
has ever questioned their legality. In this case, German was only one of
the options for the third language offered by the KVS and the MoU was
never intended to make it compulsory. The fact that over 70,000 students
across 500 schools opted for it speaks volumes about the preference
among students and parents to learn a foreign language to boost their
career prospects. Student preference for Sanskrit as a third language
remains unclear. The HRD Ministry seems insensitive to the impact of its
decision so late in the academic year on students who have taken up the
language. It is obvious that the present regime’s eagerness to
demonstrate its commitment to Sanskrit overrides the interests of
students, as well as the notion of sanctity of agreements reached with
institutions backed by foreign states.
The Supreme Court has questioned the haste with which Sanskrit is sought
to be introduced in the middle of an academic year. The government’s
claim that it will ensure that students are not put undue stress by
adopting an entry level syllabus and marking system shows that its
keenness to promote Sanskrit is mere tokenism. The court seems to have
endorsed the policy of introducing the learning of Sanskrit, described
as ‘the mother of many languages’, as a third language, but only wants
the decision to be implemented from the next academic year. To be fair,
the November 11, 2014, office memorandum replacing German says students
can learn either Sanskrit or any other ‘modern Indian language’ as third
language. German will be relegated to the non-serious ‘hobby class’.
The moot question, however, is whether at all Sanskrit should be
counterpoised against German when there should be a place for both the
languages, with students being allowed to choose Sanskrit or another
modern Indian or European language. Such counterpoising is all the more
ironic considering that German academia has had a long tradition of
scholarship in Sanskrit and Indian studies.
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