In the rhetoric of partisan politics surrounding the three language formula, unsurprisingly, the most important stakeholder has been forgotten: the student.
First, it is the child who goes to a public (government) school, and no one else, who should be at the very centre of this debate. Students in public schools form about 55% of the school enrolment in Tamil Nadu. Children in private schools (largely from the upper class) increasingly rely on supplemental learning beyond school hours, i.e., coaching or tuition classes, which a public school student cannot afford. The critical question is this: is learning three (instead of two) languages essential to enable a child from a public school to compete with other more privileged candidates in the job market and become a productive, value-adding citizen?
Second, while the National Education Policy (NEP) is path-breaking on many accounts, there are a few provisions that ignore the ground realities of public education in India, especially at the primary and secondary levels. The three language formula is one such issue.
A problematic hypothesis
The NEP declares that the compulsory learning of three languages is intended to improve the cognitive ability of students, enable mobility for employment and promote national integration. This very hypothesis is a problematic one.
Language is a necessary tool for acquiring knowledge and for communication. However, with the breathtaking progress in technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence, language proficiency itself will gradually lose its significance as a tool for knowledge acquisition. You could post your query in any language, in say Google Gemini (even children in a public school will hopefully soon have access either through a smart classroom or a smartphone), and get an answer instantly.
In the years ahead, this access will only get cheaper and better. There is of course indisputable evidence linking language skills with cognitive abilities, but none which establishes that proficiency in more languages will proportionately improve cognitive abilities. In fact, research suggests quite the contrary — that a strong foundation in a child’s mother tongue is essential before introducing additional language(s).
A third language will certainly enable better communication with the community that speaks that language. But that is a choice that most adults make as a part of the profession they choose. Tamil ‘thambis’ quickly learn Hindi when they join the Indian Army and thrive famously. Tamilian salesmen speak flawless Marathi when they sell their wares in Maharashtra.
Third, the state of primary education is pathetic, nationally and in Tamil Nadu, as highlighted in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Survey 2024. Despite some good initiatives in recent times, 88% of class three students in Tamil Nadu still lack basic literacy proficiency.
The challenge is even greater with the second language, English. Many top-scoring students, even from English-medium public schools, struggle to adapt when transitioning to English-medium instruction in college, particularly in professional courses, because in the school, they are taught in Tamil, not in English.
Focus on teaching and learning
The response to the shocking state of quality in primary (and carried forward to secondary and higher secondary) education is to massively improve teaching quality and learning outcomes, and not to add one more language. There is a finite time available at school to ‘cover’ all subjects. With acquisition of knowledge getting easier and quicker through technology, education should increasingly focus on developing attributes such as curiosity, critical thinking and creativity, which are critical to success in the 21st century. There is a need to provide more time and space in the curriculum for inculcating these traits, rather than thrusting a third language. Within this finite time, it is important to enable deeper learning than wider learning.
Fourth, it is not clear how public schools would be able to find adequate and competent teachers for a third language, even assuming that every parent chooses Hindi and not a variety of other languages. There is every reason to fear the quality of teachers leading to inferior learning. Despite Tamil Nadu having one of the highest per-child education budgets in the country, 80%-90% of the budget is spent on teacher salaries, while infrastructure suffers. The cost of having third language teachers could eat into the funds available for infrastructure.
Language is a great anchor of cultural values. National unity is indeed a foundational value, and the Constitution provides for the propagation of Hindi. While a common language is desirable, it would be at the tail end of cultural initiatives to promote unity. A spirit of respect for other cultures and a shared sense of history should be an integral part of learning. A third language is neither the only nor a superior way to inculcate these values.
That said, education should lead to a choice of gainful employment opportunities. So long as opportunities for public school students are available within the State, either from government, private enterprise or self employment (the case thus far), the need for a third language may not be critical. However, the system outcomes must facilitate wider choices for students from Tamil Nadu to compete for the best educational and employment opportunities, nationally and even globally.
So long as English continues to be an official language in examinations for central services, the defence services and the judiciary, students from Tamil Nadu should be able to compete at a national level, as they have done successfully for several decades. Better teaching/learning of English would improve their competitiveness in the world, which is increasingly looking for English-literate service providers.
The politics and the student
So, what is the way forward? There are two dimensions to this problem: politico-cultural and child development.
The right or wrong of the ruling party’s politics on the issue is not the subject of this article. But it is important to acknowledge ,from a child development perspective, that it is a two-front political battle, i.e., one, stopping Hindi ‘imposition’ on the State; and two, fighting to retain the robust status of English nationally. The second is a more challenging task.
The State’s politics may not harm the future of students, as long as English continues as an official language at the Centre with equal force and usage.
However, if, nationally the landscape is likely to change with Hindi progressively replacing English (in spirit even if not in letter because of constitutional safeguards), the State’s politics should factor this reality and seriously consider insulating the child’s development from the crossfire of political battles.
Here is a possible approach that has the interests of the child in mind.
Since there is no academic merit in thrusting a third language on the child, particularly at the primary level, Hindi could be offered, as an option as a third language from middle public school. This could be started in schools in the district headquarters and progressively expanded to other schools, depending on demand, which, in turn, will depend on the momentum of Hindi replacing English at the national level.
A rigid political position could result in a generation of students that is handicapped to compete nationally. This issue should be a debate and a discussion, and not a war that destroys the future of the young.
R. Seshasayee is a corporate director and author
Published – March 03, 2025 12:16 am IST