Hindi as a third language in educational institutions
The Madras High Court’s first bench, in an inquiry into the challenge of making Hindi the third language in educational institutions, observed on Tuesday that if one does not study Hindi, finding work in North India will be difficult. While hearing a PIL petition seeking to incorporate this into the federal government’s National Education Policy 2020, the bench, which included Acting Chief Justice MN Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu, made these observations.
Arjunan Elayaraja, the secretary of Aalamaram, a Cuddalore-based NGO, filed the petition.
The PIL asks for an order to the appropriate authorities to implement the NEP 2020 in Tamil Nadu with the required revisions to reflect the Supreme Court’s directives on the matter in various cases.
The ACJ noted, while accepting the PIL, “Tamil and English are already spoken in the country. I do not believe that adding a third language (Hindi) will be detrimental.”
He also directed that a notification be sent to the relevant authorities, which would be due back in eight weeks.
