The Centre’s proposed move to waive Sanskrit test for Class VI to VIII students of Kendriya Vidyalaya hit a roadblock with parents claiming that such a move will deprive children of appearing in the CBSE Class X Board examination.
The fresh turn of events was witnessed in Supreme Court on Monday after parents got their chance to respond to a letter issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development waiving off Sanskrit test as a third language replacing German.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi informed the Court that by this decision, students can learn Sanskrit for the remaining three months of their academic sessions without being burdened by the stress of appearing in examinations.
But the petitioner VS Ramanathan through their counsel brought the CBSE Curriculum to Court where it said that unless a student clears the third language test in Class VIII, he or she will not be eligible to take the Class X Board examination.
The bench of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph found these concerns to be genuine and asked Rohatgi to take up the matter with KV administration as well as CBSE. Rohatgi promised to hold a meeting between officials of CBSE, Ministry of HRD and KV administration before the next hearing on December 16. The bench said, “There will be problem for students…If these concerns are addressed, only then we can give a solution.”
Meanwhile KV Commissioner, who was present in Court informed AG that Class X Board exams are optional for KVs, later retracted saying that he needs time to consult CBSE. The petitioner even hit out against such a mindless order by the Ministry as it seemed the CBSE was not taken into confidence before proposing to waive off Sanskrit exams. In the meantime, AG assured that no student will be put to any difficulty.