bhaskarkilli
Core Member
CHENNAI: The move to make Tamil a compulsory second language in the CBSE schools of the State has left many parents worried, with many non-native speakers, transferred from elsewhere, highlighting the difficulties involved in learning the language.
V Vinayaraj, whose son V Aditya studies at a private CBSE school in Arumbakkam, said keeping Tamil as an optional third language was sufficient. “Compulsory Tamil learning is not a viable option. Authorities should keep in mind that it will affect those children whose parents are on a transferable job,” he said. According to those from outside the State, it is not practical for their children to learn Tamil in the place of another language, as there is no certainty that the family would remain in Tamil Nadu till their children finished schools.
However, the resistance from parents is not exactly about learning a new language, but about the subject being part of the curriculum. Sahu Prasad, a native of Odisha, who shifted to Chennai a decade ago said his son picked up Tamil interacting with his friends here and that has helped him settle down. “My son plays the role of a translator whenever I have to interact with someone who doesn’t speak any language other than Tamil,” he said. Due to this mandate, schools have resorted to dropping extra-curricular activity hours and replacing them with Tamil language sessions. Some of them have even extra class hours.
“We have introduced the change from class one as instructed. Earlier we used to have six hours of language classes every week. Now, we have split it into four hours each for Hindi and Tamil and made it eight hours a week,” said the principal of a leading CBSE school, preferring anonymity.
“We have dropped an hour intended for Maths and utilised another extra-curricular session to include Tamil language classes,” said Bhuvana Shankar, principal of Chennai Public school (CPS).
The school also had to resort to teaching Hindi as a third language for class one students in order to meet parents’ demands. “Students from class six onwards have the option of choosing Tamil as an optional third language, ” Bhuvana added.
Mandatory Tamil in Schools Worries Non-native Parents -The New Indian Express
V Vinayaraj, whose son V Aditya studies at a private CBSE school in Arumbakkam, said keeping Tamil as an optional third language was sufficient. “Compulsory Tamil learning is not a viable option. Authorities should keep in mind that it will affect those children whose parents are on a transferable job,” he said. According to those from outside the State, it is not practical for their children to learn Tamil in the place of another language, as there is no certainty that the family would remain in Tamil Nadu till their children finished schools.
However, the resistance from parents is not exactly about learning a new language, but about the subject being part of the curriculum. Sahu Prasad, a native of Odisha, who shifted to Chennai a decade ago said his son picked up Tamil interacting with his friends here and that has helped him settle down. “My son plays the role of a translator whenever I have to interact with someone who doesn’t speak any language other than Tamil,” he said. Due to this mandate, schools have resorted to dropping extra-curricular activity hours and replacing them with Tamil language sessions. Some of them have even extra class hours.
“We have introduced the change from class one as instructed. Earlier we used to have six hours of language classes every week. Now, we have split it into four hours each for Hindi and Tamil and made it eight hours a week,” said the principal of a leading CBSE school, preferring anonymity.
“We have dropped an hour intended for Maths and utilised another extra-curricular session to include Tamil language classes,” said Bhuvana Shankar, principal of Chennai Public school (CPS).
The school also had to resort to teaching Hindi as a third language for class one students in order to meet parents’ demands. “Students from class six onwards have the option of choosing Tamil as an optional third language, ” Bhuvana added.
Mandatory Tamil in Schools Worries Non-native Parents -The New Indian Express
