Education Minister backs CBSE language policy, says his daughter studied English, Hindi, and Marathi up to Class 8 – India Today

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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended CBSE’s three-language policy for Classes 9 and 10, saying it follows NEP 2020, adds no extra exam burden, and affects very few students.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has supported CBSE’s new three-language requirement for Classes 9 and 10, saying that the rule is not a sudden change because it is already part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Speaking in a media interview, Pradhan said that most education boards in India already require students to study three languages from Classes 6 to 10. He pointed out that CBSE students were studying up to three languages only till Class 8, and now the same practice has been extended to Classes 9 and 10. He also shared that his daughter studied English, Hindi and Marathi up to Class 8.
Pradhan stated, “Even in CBSE schools, around 99 per cent of the students were studying at least two native languages out of the three till Class 8.” According to him, this is not a major change because students were already following a similar pattern. “The policy is just being extended to two more classes,” he added.
He also clarified that students will not have to appear for a board examination in the third language. Instead, schools will assess students internally. “The decision not to hold board examinations for R3 was taken to ensure there is no additional burden on the students,” he said.
Responding to concerns raised by some students about replacing foreign languages with Indian languages, Pradhan said, “There’s only 1 per cent of students who are dissatisfied with the introduction of two native languages instead of foreign languages.” He further added, “Some students have approached the court for the same. It’s their choice; India is a democratic country. We will accept whatever the court’s verdict is.”
When asked how schools that currently teach foreign languages such as Spanish, French and German would arrange teachers for Indian languages within a short period, Pradhan said that most CBSE schools were already teaching two Indian languages till Class 8. “Where’s the deficiency of teachers springing from?” he asked.
The minister said that the new rule is simply a continuation of the existing language-learning system. According to him, only a small number of students and schools have raised objections. He concluded by saying, “Those who wish to study two foreign languages can opt for an additional fourth language.”
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