The Supreme Court, Friday, accepted Centre’s proposal to allow students to opt for either Sanskrit or German in the current academic session.
The Centre also submitted that students of Kendriya Vidyalayas will not have to appear for Sanskrit examination in the present academic session.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a bench headed by Justice Anil R Dave that the government has taken the decision to dispense with the Sanskrit examination in the current academic year while addressing the concerns of the court and the stress the students would have undergone due to a mid-session switch.
The apex court termed the new proposal a “good solution” as there will be no burden on the students.
“Even as a father, I would agree with Centre’s proposal,” said Justice Dave.
However, the case was adjourned till December 8 (Monday) after the petitioner sought time to counter government’s new proposal.
The controversy was triggered after the Centre decided to drop German as an alternative to Sanskrit as third language in classes 6 to 8 in Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV).
The SC had agreed to give an urgent hearing on the petitions filed by a group of parents of KV students on the issue.
The bench had posted the matter for today and had asked the Centre to file its response on the PIL.
The petitioners had contended that the decision on selecting language should not impose on them, especially in the middle of the ongoing academic session.
The Board of Governors (BoG) of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), headed by HRD Minister Smriti Irani, had in its meeting on October 27 decided that “teaching of German language as an option to Sanskrit will be discontinued herewith”. German has been kept as an additional subject for students.
The decision had a direct bearing on over 70,000 students across 500 KVs from classes 6 to 8 who will have had to switch from German to Sanskrit.
