The Kerala government has decided to frame legislation to make Malayalam mandatory in all schools across the state including CBSE, ICSE, self-financing, aided, un-aided and government schools.

The government, in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said it plans to frame a law to make it mandatory to teach Malayalam in all schools till higher secondary classes. The cabinet took the decision after it was brought to the notice of the government that the mother tongue was not being taught in some schools of the state. 

The move to frame a law to make it compulsory in all schools was born out of the fact that the instructions by the previous governments to make it mandatory was not followed by some schools.  

In September 2012, a division bench of the Kerala High Court had struck down the rule framed by the government that made it compulsory to teach Malayalam in CBSE schools. 

The court while quashing the government order in 2012 had pointed out that students from other states were also studying in ICSE and CBSE schools. 

In April 2013, Indo- American International School at Vagamon in Kottayam challenged the insistence of the government to teach Malayalam, even after the High Court’s direction in favour of the schools. 

The decision of the ruling Left Democratic Front government to frame a law to make Malayalam compulsory is apparently to do away with the legal hurdles which were pointed out by some CBSE schools whenever the government insisted for the same.