Anguished by the State government’s ordinance making Malayalam a compulsory subject in all schools up to class 10, the Kerala CBSE School Managements’ Association (KCSMA) is set to approach the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development with the demand that CBSE schools should be brought under the control of the Union government.
An emergency State executive meeting of the association has decided to form an expert committee to take up the matter with the HRD Ministry in association with its counterparts across the country. “We are already in touch with CBSE associations elsewhere. It is imperative to make the Union government the controlling authority of CBSE schools to insulate them from similar unilateral moves by other State governments in the future,” said Indira Rajan, general secretary, KCSMA.
She said the government and votaries of its move to promote Malayalam should not lose sight of the fact that the CBSE was not anti-Malayalam and that it was already mandatory up to class 8 and optional in higher classes. “Making Malayalam compulsory for higher classes will negate the national character of CBSE schools. Besides, it’s not practical for students from abroad and other States who get enrolled in a school in Kerala owing to their parents’ transfer to learn Malayalam and clear the examination. The suggestion that they just need to learn the language and need not pass the examination will be an unnecessary burden for students preparing to appear for board examinations,” Ms. Rajan said.
T.P.M. Ibrahim Khan, president of KCSMA, said the ordinance violated the agreement entered into between the CBSE and the State government whereby local languages shall be taught in CBSE schools but shall not be made part of curriculum determining students’ promotion to next class. “It is neither practical for a student from another State to learn Malayalam one fine morning nor will it serve the purpose of the law that has been brought into effect. There should not be blind opposition or love for a language and that is why it is necessary for the Union government to come up with a proposal on teaching languages in CBSE schools,” he said.
Mr. Khan said there was no proper deliberation about the implications of such a law, which makes it imperative for the State government to issue clarifications. “Such an imposition of Malayalam language goes against the principle of natural justice and the national curriculum formulated for CBSE schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas,” Mr. Khan said.
