PM Modi with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brisbane, Australia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he would look into the controversy surrounding the teaching of German in Kendriya Vidyalayas or central government schools in the country. A decision to replace German with Sanskrit as a third language in these schools has disappointed Germany.
"Our Prime Minister assured her that he himself is a votary of young Indian children learning other languages. How it is best done within the confines of the Indian system, we will work it out," Syed Akbaruddin, India's foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters.
Chancellor Merkel, who met PM Modi met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, told him that "relations between the two countries are deepening" and invited him to visit Germany.
After the decision by the Education Ministry, over 70,000 students across 500 Kendriya Vidyalayas will be asked to switch from German to Sanskrit.
Smriti Irani, the union Human Resource Development Minister, said the government's decision was in national interest.
German was being taught as a third language as part of a 2011 Memorandum of Understanding that the ministry says was illegal.
The pact was signed between the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Goethe Institute-Max Mueller Bhawan and was allegedly not signed off by the ministry though it was signed in the presence of E Ahamed, then the Minister of State for Human Resources Development.
On Saturday, German Ambassador Michael Steiner told NDTV that 79,000 students would be directly affected and Chancellor Merkel was aware of the situation.
"I am a fervent supporter of Sanskrit, I believe cultural identity is important but look at the globalised reality," the envoy said.
In the three-language formula, schools teach Hindi, English and a modern Indian language - Sanskrit is said to be a popular option in northern states.
The Board of Governors of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, which Ms Irani heads as minister, has retained German as an extra subject for students.