HRD Min Denies Report About Making Hindi Mandatory Till Class 8

A committee had reportedly recommended making Hindi language ‘mandatory’ till Class 8 across India.

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said the draft policy will be reviewed after winter session of Parliament ends.

(Photo: IANS)

HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar clarified on Thursday, January 10, that the draft report on education policy did not recommend making any language compulsory.

Javadekar’s statement comes after a report said that a nine-member K Kasturirangan committee on the New Education Policy (NEP) had recommended making Hindi language mandatory till Class 8 across India.

Ensuring common syllabus for maths and science, developing a script in Devanagari for tribal dialects and promoting education based on skills are among other recommendations of the panel, according to The Indian Express.

The committee also wants implement an 'India-centric' and 'scientific' system of learning in Indian schools, the IE report added.

The committee had handed over its report to the HRD Ministry before its term ended on 31 December 2018. Javadekar told The Indian Express that he will get the report after the parliament session concludes.

The newspaper quoted its sources as saying that since subjects like social science can have varied syllabi, there is no point in doing so for science and mathematics for different boards up to Class 12. It said that the language the subjects are taught in can vary, but it makes more sense to have the same syllabus.

Making a syllabus for up to Class 5 in local languages has also been suggested, according to the report.

The committee has made the following suggestions as well:

• A permanent education committee, headed by the prime minister.
• Regulatory mechanism to be strengthened and headed by someone from outside the government.
• Technical and professional courses to be promoted among SC/ST students.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)