The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the introduction of a third language at the Class 9 level under the CBSE curriculum, observing that it could add to students' academic stress and suggesting that any new language be introduced in Class 5 or Class 6 instead.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan urged the Centre not to introduce a third language from Class 9 onwards.
"Union of India please don't have a third language from Class 9 level. It would unnecessarily increase the stress level of students. If you want to introduce a new language, then please do it at Class 5 or Class 6 level but not at Class 9 level. Class nine is full of stress, it starts from Class 8 onwards," Justice Nagarathna told the counsel appearing for the Centre, asking her to convey the court's views to the government.
The observations came during the hearing of the Tamil Nadu government's appeal against a Madras High Court direction to facilitate the establishment of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in every district of the State.
Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed the setting up of JNVs, citing concerns over the three-language policy followed by the schools.
While the bench was not directly hearing a challenge to the CBSE's language policy, it made observations on the stage at which a third language should be introduced in schools.
A separate Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant is currently hearing petitions challenging the CBSE's new policy and had recently declined to stay the relevant notification.
(With inputs from PTI)