In a departure from the BJP’s official stance, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai has criticised the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision to make the three-language policy mandatory from Class 9 starting July 1.
In a statement issued on May 26, Annamalai said students should not be burdened with learning a new language within a short timeframe. The police officer-turned politician sought the intervention of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to revoke the decision.
Referring to his earlier support for the policy in April, Annamalai said he had understood that the implementation would begin only from the 2029-30 academic year.
“Expecting Class 9 students to learn another new language within such a short period of time will cause unnecessary stress to the children and affect their overall academic performance,” he said.
As per the CBSE’s policy, two out of the three languages must be Indian. A May 15 circular shared by Annamalai stated that no board examination would be conducted for the third language (R3) in Class 10 in order to “reduce any undue pressure on students”.
Accusing the CBSE of violating its own previous announcement, Annamalai said that the move has come as a shock to parents and students.
“I request the Union Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw this new announcement and implement the plan to make three languages, including two Indian languages, compulsory in Class 9 only after three years, from the 2029–30 academic year, as previously announced,” he added.