New Delhi: Lakhs of CBSE students studying foreign languages have received a major relief. Those already in Classes VII, VIII and IX will no longer have to worry about changing their language combination midway through school.The clarification has eased weeks of anxiety among parents who feared their children would have to abandon a language they had studied for years and switch to another subject just before entering higher classes.The reassurance, however, comes after several schools had already begun preparing for the transition. Some had held orientation sessions to explain the proposed language changes, informed parents that foreign language vacation homework need not be completed, advised students that Sanskrit would replace foreign languages from the new academic session, and even started working out revised subject combinations.It was only on Thursday that Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan clarified that the revised three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) would apply prospectively, beginning with students entering Class VI, and would not affect students in Classes VII, VIII and IX.Students who had opted for two foreign languages will now be allowed to continue with the same combination until their Class X board examinations. Pradhan acknowledged that CBSE’s earlier communication had failed to clearly explain the transition. A circular by CBSE is awaited.For many parents, the clarification has come after weeks of uncertainty. At one private school, parents of students in Classes VII and VIII were informed during a pre-summer orientation that Sanskrit would replace the foreign language from the next academic session.“I had got a call from the school saying that very few children had opted for the foreign language as the third language and the school will not offer this. This, in fact, meant my child had to mandatorily study Sanskrit from July 1,” said a parent of a school in Vasant Kunj. She added that parents were later informed students no longer needed to complete their foreign language holiday homework as the subject was being phased out.Another parent, Rashmi Saha, said: “The clarification has brought immense relief. We had already begun preparing our child for a completely different language after receiving communication from the school. We were worried about how a student who had spent years learning one language would suddenly have to start another almost from scratch. It would have been unfair to change subjects after years of learning, especially at a stage when children should be focusing on their academics rather than adjusting to a completely new language.”In one school, current Class IX students were to study a bridge curriculum based on Class VI-level textbooks, while students currently in Classes VIII and VII were to shift to the full Class IX third-language syllabus in the coming years.The ambiguity had also left school administrators struggling to respond to anxious parents.Rooma Pathak, principal of MM Public School, Pitampura, said the policy’s implementation had created confusion among schools and parents. “The biggest issue is that if students stop opting for certain languages, the teachers of those subjects will eventually become redundant,” she said. “Students had already bought books and started attending classes. Suddenly changing the language midway through the session is extremely difficult.”
