Kendriya Vidyalaya to drop German language course over Sanskrit

Kendriya Vidyalaya board has decided to discontinue teaching German language courses in the KV schools in the middle of the academic year, across the country.

The decision is likely to affect thousands of students of class 6th to class 8th in 500 KV schools.

Schools had completed their second term and summative and one formative assessment. The academic year 2014-15 will end in March 2015.

The decision of dropping the German language has been taken in a meeting, which was held on October 27, 2014, which was chaired by HRD Minister Smriti Irani. It is apparently aimed at restoring the primacy of the three-language formula under which English and two modern Indian languages are taught.

A notification regarding changes has been sent to all KV's, as it says, "teaching of the German language as an option to Sanskrit will be discontinued forthwith. Students studying German as an option to Sanskrit in Class 6 to 8 shall be given the option to study Sanskrit or any other modern Indian language of his or her choice."

It also said that the students aspiring to study German, they can study as an additional subject or hobby but not as a third language.

N R Murali, deputy commissioner of the KV Sangathan regional office in Kolkata, said, "The idea is that a foreign language replacing a modern Indian language is in violation of the national policy on education or the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) or the three language formula. The decision has been communicated to the schools."

Earlier, the Kvs in metro cities were asked to offer foreign language by the HRD Ministry.

Those KVs that had been offering German as a third language had been doing it under a MoU signed with the Goethe Institute, which provided training to teachers and library material and organized cultural programs.