BENGALURU: With over 90,000 students failing in Hindi as the third-language subject in the 2024 SSLC examination in Karnataka, educationists are questioning why the state mandates Hindi as the third language instead of allowing students to choose one that aligns with their interests or future prospects.
Calling it an unnecessary burden, educationists criticised this “imposition”, highlighting that Hindi, in Karnataka, is being taught for the sake of fulfilling the three-language policy but is neither contributing to students’ knowledge nor proving useful for their future.
Development Educationist Professor Niranjaradhya VP highlighted that students in Karnataka’s state board schools are required to learn Hindi as a third language from Class 6 onwards.
“However, the lack of qualified teachers, especially in Classes 6 and 7, has led to a situation where students are being forced to study the language without proper guidance. In many cases, Hindi remains just another subject in the progress report rather than a language that students actively learn and use,” he said, highlighting that the issue becomes critical when students reach Class 10, where passing Hindi becomes compulsory.
“This highlights the impracticality of imposing Hindi on Kannada-speaking students, as most of them are unlikely to continue learning the language beyond school,” Prof Niranjaradhya further said.
He said that government primary schools have very few Hindi teachers, making it an unnecessary teaching post. The additional burden of learning Hindi negatively affects students’ proficiency in their mother tongue (Kannada) and second language (English), he claimed.
“Even if Hindi is taught as a third language, it holds little value in terms of knowledge, business, higher education, or daily life. Instead, the government should prioritise Kannada and English education, ensuring students receive quality education in these languages, which are crucial for their academic and professional futures,” Prof Niranjanaradhya stressed.
“Students should first be asked whether they even want to learn a third language, as their existing syllabus is already packed with numerous concepts to grasp at each grade level. If they do feel the need to learn one, the government should provide them with multiple language options instead of imposing Hindi, especially in a multilingual state like Karnataka,” child rights activists Nagasimha G Rao said.
He mentioned that the Child Rights Trust has started a campaign to push for a change.