Sanskrit replaces German in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan

Chennai: The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan which governs Kendriya Vidyalaya schools in the country has withdrawn German language, taught as an option to Sanskrit and has made it an additional subject or hobby class (not a third language) for students from classes 6 to 8.

Students studying German in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools have been given the option to study either Sanskrit or any other modern Indian language. Of the 44 schools affiliated to Kendriya Vidyalaya in TN, 35 teach German, including 14 in Chennai with about 1,000 students studying it.

Several parents have opposed the move as they claim it would affect student morale and place students in the lurch as they need to learn a new language mid session. “I asked my daughter to take German as she wants to go for higher education abroad, so learning a foreign language will help her. It is shocking to hear that KV schools will henceforth not teach German. At a time when the examination system has become a big stress, this change will add fuel to fire. KVS should revert to the older system immediately in the interest of students,” said D. Manjula, a parent whose daughter studies in class 8 at KV, CLRI.

Pointing out that students need to stay back in school everyday to learn German as a hobby subject, Manjula said that students who travel by public transport and school vehicles would be the most affected lot as these vehicles do not wait for a few students.

Adding to Manjula’s view, Suresh, another parent of a class 8 student at KV, Anna Nagar, said that if government had to enforce any change it should be done at the start of the academic year, not mid-session. “Hindi and Sanskrit are similar in several ways, which is what made me ask my son to study German so that he can learn a foreign language. It is not fair of government to do this without consulting parents and students,” he said.

Even though parents might not be happy about the decision, Sanskrit teachers certainly are. “We need to give preference to Indian languages over foreign ones, so I welcome this decision. We can coach students to learn Sanskrit with one extra session in the evening for three months,” said a Sanksrit teacher at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the city.

However, Shaik Mohammad Saleem, deputy commissioner, Chennai regional office, told Deccan Chronicle on Thursday that the change in language subjects in Kendriya Vidyalaya  schools would not affect students in a big way as they would move to the next class without getting failed as per the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

“German was made an optional subject to Sanskrit in 2011-12 with contractual teachers drawn from the Goethe Institute. Now too, students are given the option to study the language but after school hours as optional,” said Shaik Mohammad. Further, in the new pattern, “we can teach any Indian language, including Tamil as third language instead of Sanskrit, provided we have a minimum strength of 15 students,” he said.