Leg up for Sanskrit in CBSE’s new three language formula

CHENNAI: The governing body of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Tuesday approved restoring of the Class X board-based examinations from the next academic session, after a gap of seven years. The examinations for 2017-18 would be conducted in March 2018. While 80 percent of weightage would be for the Board exam, 20 percent would be based on internal tests.

The Board has also decided to bring in the controversial three-language formula, a move that is sure to trigger a furore in non-Hindi speaking states, particularly Tamil Nadu where there is a strong opposition to the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit. 

The decision has come just a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Pannerselvam called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to handover a memorandum with a charter of demands that included a strong opposition to the introduction of three-language formula in schools, as Tamil Nadu has historically followed a two-language formula witah Tamil and English being taught.

“The CBSE was the only central board that was not following the three-language system up to Class X. Now the board has recommended it; the final decision is with the ministry,” highly-placed sources told Express. Under the three-language formula, the first language to be studied must be the mother tongue or the regional language.

In non-Hindi speaking states, the second language will be English or Hindi and the third language will be English or a modern Indian language. In Hindi-speaking states, students can choose English and modern Indian languages as their second and third languages. The CBSE has also recommended that foreign languages be taught only as an elective.

SOURCE:http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2016/dec/21/leg-up-for-sanskrit-in-cbses-new-three-language-formula-1551503.html