The Karnataka government’s decision to opt for a dual-language policy of Kannada and English in this year’s Class 10 exam, and giving grades rather than marks for the third language, appears peculiar. The reasoning is that it would reduce language pressure on students and promote Kannada—students have to score out of 525 marks in five subjects instead of 625 in six. This downgrade of the third language is in keeping with the State Education Policy, which Karnataka adopted instead of the National Education Policy. Academicians have largely welcomed the move considering the consistently low pass percentages. In the 2024-25 boards, of the 1,64,000 students who failed, 1,46,000 did not pass the third-language paper.
However, the decision has set off a political brouhaha. Like other southern states, the Karnataka government has resisted the ‘imposition’ of Hindi, with the Chief Minister declaring it cannot be ‘enforced’. Though the state’s parties are turning it into a Hindi-versus-Kannada issue, the ground reality gives a different complexion to the debate. Of 8.12 lakh students this year, 7.52 lakh opted for Hindi as third language; 32,135 for English, 11,483 for Kannada, 5,544 for Urdu and 5,159 for Sanskrit. Some experts also argue that a dual-language preference could lead to a lack of interest in teaching and learning the third language. We must bear in mind that a third language may not only serve as a link to a broader world, but can also foster better cognitive skills.
The NEP has remained contentious in the southern states although it offers a flexible formula of three languages with at least two being Indian, and a compulsory third language from Class 6 starting 2026-27. Tamil Nadu’s political opposition to the way it is imposed has flared up in this election season again. Kerala has a three-language policy, but is against Hindi. Andhra Pradesh has a Telugu-Urdu-English formula. The BJP-ruled Maharashtra was forced to repeal its directive making Hindi mandatory for Grades 1 to 5.
While linguistic pride remains political fodder in the South, perhaps adopting another southern language as the third option could be considered. Apart from mobility, it can improve regional harmony, too. State leaders should keep in mind the interests of young generations while promoting multilingual education— not only in the region, but across the nation and the world.