Third Language Bill, 2020 – Boon Or Bane

Introduction:

India is known for its diverse culture and multilingual identity around the world. India has the world’s second-highest number of languages after Papua New Guinea. (Seetharaman, 2017) Now, there are several language families in India and one can categorize them as follows:

Indo–Aryan (78.05%)
Dravidian (19.64%)

The remaining 2.31 % of the Indian population have their ties from Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, and a few other minor language families and isolates. (Moseley, 2008)

Language helps us communicate; it is a tool of communication. But more than that, it defines an individual’s identity and place in society. It is the duty of the state to preserve, protect, and promote all languages recognized under the 8^th schedule of the constitution. There are currently 22 languages (representing 90% of the Indian population) that are granted legal status by the Indian government.[1]  India also has the most endangered languages than any other country. The reason might be the negligence on the part of the state to accommodate minority groups and their cultural identity.

The Official Languages Act, 1963

There have been debates over the National language of India where considering the diversity, uniform language imposed on the whole nation was found difficult to implement. In 1949, the Constituent Assembly had chosen Hindi as the sole national language and it received backlash from southern leaders who opposed the arbitrary imposition of Hindi on them. (A similar controversy arose when the draft for the New Education Policy (NEP) was released in 2019) Nehru, the then prime minister was aware of the sensitivity of language politics and made sure to hear everyone out. Therefore, with the enactment of The Official Languages Act, 1963 Hindi (federal language) and English (for non-Hindi speaking states) became the official Languages of the government. [2]

Three Language Formula

Kothari Commission

The Kothari commission alternatively known as the Indian Education Commission was set up by the Government of India on 14 July 1964 under the chairmanship of Daulat Singh Kothari, who was the then chairman of the University Grants Commission. It aimed at examining all aspects of the education sector across the country and brings about evolution in the general pattern of education. Few of the recommendations under development of language included the promotion of regional languages and the “Third language formula “which stated:

“At the secondary stage, the State Governments should adopt, and vigorously implement, the three-language formula which ‘includes the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking States, and of Hindi along with the regional language and English in the non-Hindi speaking States. Suitable courses in Hindi and/or English should also be available in universities and colleges with a view to improving the proficiency of students in these languages up to the prescribed university standards.”

In the Indian federal governance system, Education policy is implemented in partnership with the central and state governments under the Concurrent List. The three-language formula for language learning was officially formulated in 1968 by the Ministry of Education of the Government of India in consensus with the states. Now what it simply meant was:

The First Language that students should study- Mother tongue or the regional language

The Second Language– In Hindi-speaking states, this would be English or some other language belonging to Modern India. In Non-Hindi states, this will be English or Hindi

The Third Language– In Hindi-speaking states, this would be English or some other language belonging to Modern India, but the one that is not chosen as the second language. In Non-Hindi states, this will be English or some other language belonging to Modern India, but the one that is not chosen as the second language.

Objective of the Bill

The main objective of the bill is to create a space for the students to learn a third regional language at the school level to help them preserve and contribute to all the languages spoken in the country. It would allow them to appreciate the culturally rich country India is, and also widen their horizon and ultimately reduce the language barrier persistent in the country.

 According to the bill, all schools, whether private or public shall introduce a compulsory Third Language Education to their students from the primary to senior secondary levels throughout the country. The third language shall be any language other than English, Hindi, or the regional language of that State and should belong to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and making it obligatory for the Central and State Governments to provide requisite infrastructure for the same.

Major Provisions of the Bill

S.3 National Policy

The central government is instructed to formulate a national policy that will help ensure the proper implementation of the third language learning in all schools in the states. They also need to make sure that proper facilities and infrastructure is made available for the same. Some of the things provided under the national policy are-

1. Third Language education for all students across all schools.
2. By encouraging students to take up Indian Languages, the rich literature, culture, and traditions apart from their own can be given a chance and ultimately boost the confidence of the student and expand their minds.
3. Ensuring the availability of required and adequate faculty in all schools.
4. The availability of adequate funds for developing the proper infrastructure of the schools prepared to begin teaching the third language.
5. Incorporating Third Language as a compulsory subject across schools.
6. Preparing standard and qualitative syllabus for the third language subject as per the class.
7. Providing scholarships to eligible students with outstanding marks.
8. Giving weightage to marks or grades obtained in the third language subject for admission in Colleges, Universities, and Institutions of national importance.

S.5. Penal Provisions

If any school violates the provisions of this Act, it shall be liable for punitive action by the appropriate Government, including withdrawal of recognition of the school.

S.6. Central Government to Provide Funds

The funding, after the implementation of this Act, will further be provided by the Central Government regularly in order to better implement it further.

S.8. Power to Make Rules

The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

Is The Bill a Boon?

1. Language as a Ladder

The students can opt to learn a new regional language which will allow them to enhance their cultural knowledge and know about other cultural identities in more depth from an early age.  This will allow them to be more appreciative of language as a tool and not as a barrier across states. It is also a good alternative to foreign languages promoted in schools. It will also help avoid stereotypes and taboos associated with other regions and create a healthier outlook towards other countrymen. The Indian history of culture and values will be embedded in the curriculum of students at the primary and secondary level and from there they can climb the ladder to progress and co-existence.

2. Ease of Doing Business

With a better grasp of a regional language from an early age, it will open doors to the future endeavors of a child. It is known that languages are easier to master if taught from an early age and hence when a person from Rajasthan wants to do business in Assam and is already equipped with Assamese from school time, the level of communication and understanding will be better and the reach of the business will be accessible to many. Across all fields, since the migration to another state in search of a job is fairly common.

3. Unity and Tolerance

With early exposure to other languages in India, a student will get the opportunity to understand a whole another culture and appreciate the diversity in India which is the only thing that truly unites us all. We are so unique yet so similar in our ways. We share a land, we share a common history. It will make everyone less intolerant and more accepting of cultures and eliminate stereotypes. Hate crimes can be made a rare occurrence.

Is The Bill a Bane?

1. Burden on Students

It can also be argued that the downside of this initiative can be a burden on the students as they already have 5 core subjects to deal with and now after the addition of a regional language, the number will become 6! Not every child has the interest or ability to take that burden on themselves and it might only discourage them from learning. Many students change schools every two years due to transfers and other reasons and it might just complicate things for them as every state will have different regional languages appointed in schools.  This change will be reflected in their grades and might ruin their plans.

2. Difficult to Execute

The execution of this bill, if made into an act seems impractical to say the least. The more important questions – how will the selections of the regional language happen from the 20 languages in the eighth schedule (excluding Hindi and English) and who will make the decision? The school or the State? Who will make sure that there is adequate faculty to teach regional courses and if so, what choices will be given to the student if any? And if presented with no choices due to poor execution of the act, the student will be left frustrated and forced to study a subject they have no connection to. Moreover to ensure that it is followed across all states in all schools? It is a mammoth task that the central government may not be ready to embark on.

3. Defiance from other States

The status and development of a language often depends on the status of the region where it is spoken. There has been an anti-Hindi protest in our country due to the overwhelming support to Hindi since independence; a tiff between the Hindi speaking states and the non-Hindi speaking states has arisen. Tamil Nadu has been traditionally opposed to any attempt to introduce Hindi as a compulsory language of learning or administration. They follow a two-language formula for decades in schools. One can also argue that in terms of attracting domestic tourists in India, Tamil Nadu is ranked 1st capturing 20.9 percent of domestic tourists in 2017 which shows the poor Hindi speaking ability of the local people there does not deter tourists from all over India to visit the state. (Observer Research Foundation)

Is Hindi our National Language?

A large population of India have accepted Hindi as a National Language and this stereotype has made its way into the global world too. There is a misconception of using the word Hindi and India interchangeably. To clear the air, a similar observation was made by a division bench of Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice A.S. Dave while rejecting a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) PIL which was seeking direction to Central and State government to make it mandatory for manufacturers to print details of goods like price, ingredients, and date of manufacture in Hindi. The court observed,

 “Normally, in India, the majority of the people have accepted Hindi as a national language and many people speak Hindi and write in Devanagari script but there is nothing on record to suggest that any provision has been made or order issued declaring Hindi as a national language of the country.”[3]

Conclusion

There has to be a concrete mechanism to deal with the issues of implementation of the Third language bill.  A lot of schools have not been able to include the third language formula into their curriculum and the reason being lack of infrastructure and though the third language formula (TLF) provides scope for mother tongue language education, the emphasis is lost due to varied implementation. Another example involving the hiatus regarding removal of German from the Kendriya Vidyalaya’s syllabus when the HRD Ministry notified all the CBSE schools to follow three language formula. (Jagran Josh, 2015)

It needs to be taken into account that a lot of schools don’t have the resources to bring about changes so quickly and more importantly, the people at the setback are the students, half-way through the education in these languages and also the teachers, who will be left unemployed because of the decision.

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References:

[1] Art. 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution.

[2] Art. 343(3) of the Indian Constitution.

[3] Sureshbhai vs Union, SCA/2896/2009