The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the timing of introducing a third language in the CBSE curriculum from Class 9, observing that it could place an unnecessary academic burden on students preparing for their board examinations. The remarks came during the hearing of Tamil Nadu’s appeal against a Madras High Court order directing the state to facilitate the establishment of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in every district.
A bench led by Justice B V Nagarathna asked why a third language was being introduced only at the secondary school level instead of earlier in a student’s academic journey. She suggested that if students are expected to learn an additional language, it would be more practical to introduce it from Class 6, allowing them sufficient time to gradually build proficiency rather than facing the challenge just before the crucial Class 10 board exams.
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The court noted that adding another subject in Class 9 could increase pressure on students at a critical stage of their education. Justice Nagarathna also observed that the National Education Policy (NEP) does not mandate the compulsory learning of Hindi and stressed that the three-language formula is intended to promote multilingualism rather than impose a particular language.
