New Delhi:
Thousands of students in government schools will not be forced to take a Sanskrit exam at short notice after the government today offered a solution before the Supreme Court.
The Centre told the court that though it has decided to replace German with Sanskrit as a third language in nearly 1,000 Kendriya Vidyalayas or central government schools across the country, there will be no Sanskrit exams this year.
The government also said it was firm on its decision to make German an optional language.
The Supreme Court had last week urged the government to put the decision on hold as students would suffer and the mid-session switch would be difficult for them.
The government said today that it had taken into account the hardship that the students would have to face.
A group of 20 parents have taken the government to court over the order last month that adopted Sanskrit as the third language to be studied along with English and Hindi in Kendriya Vidyalayas. The decision affects some 70,000 students.
Today, one of the judges, Justice AR Dave, said, "Your children study Sanskrit as an additional language, as a father I would agree. Centre's option is a good solution. What's wrong in that proposal? If your children learns Sanskrit what's wrong?"
The parents had complained that students would have to be tested in Sanskrit despite not having studied it earlier. The government said students would immediately be taught and tested on a beginners-level course in Sanskrit, and will therefore not be at a disadvantage since they will not be expected to demonstrate proficiency in the language.
The court will take up the case again on Monday, when the petitioners, the parents, will respond.
In 2011, an agreement was signed for German to be taught at Kendriya Vidyalayas with Max Mueller Bhavans or Goethe Institutes, which are tasked by the German government to propagate the country's culture abroad. Education Minister Smriti Irani said the contract was illegal as it violates the country's education policy.