The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to consider giving the current Class 6 students a one-time exemption from taking a third-language Board examination in Class 10.
The issue concerns the implementation of the three-language formula in CBSE schools, under which students are required to study three languages.
Under the present guidelines, students in Classes 7 to 9 have been exempted from the full implementation of the requirement. However, the current Class 6 students are expected to come under the full scheme, which would require them to appear for a third-language Board examination when they reach Class 10.
The Supreme Court had earlier asked the CBSE to consider whether this particular batch of students could be given relief from the Class 10 examination.
Appearing for the Centre and CBSE, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta told the court on Wednesday that the government would hold consultations with the concerned officials and consider the issue of a one-time exemption.
The court also heard arguments over how English should be treated under the three-language framework.
The petitioners sought the court’s consideration of English being placed in the category of a non-native or foreign language. The Centre, however, said it had an issue with treating English as an indigenous language and sought an opportunity to make its submissions on the matter.
The court has not yet settled the issue and adjourned the hearing to September 17.
During the hearing, the court also stressed that implementing the three-language formula would require adequate teachers and infrastructure in schools. It said schools and students should be given sufficient time to adapt to the policy.
The court had also asked the CBSE to examine whether the three-language scheme should ideally be introduced at an earlier stage of schooling, giving children more time to learn and adjust to the additional language.
The Supreme Court further issued notice to the government on petitions filed by minority schools challenging aspects of the implementation of the three-language formula.
