NEW DELHI: As the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) pushes forward with its revised three-language policy, parents across India are grappling with uncertainty, frustration, and, in some cases, difficult personal decisions regarding their children’s education.
In conversations across parent groups—both online and within school communities—the dominant concern is not the idea of multilingual learning, but the manner of its implementation. Many parents believe the policy feels rushed and poorly planned.
“We are not against languages,” said a parent from Delhi and a member of the Educators Federation. He questioned, “But how do you introduce a new subject when there are no textbooks, no trained teachers, and no clarity on assessment?”
A recurring worry is what parents call the “English dilemma.” While the policy encourages two Indian languages, parents argue that English remains essential for higher education and careers. “In reality, English becomes compulsory anyway,” another parent noted. “So where is the choice?”
Families with transferable jobs, particularly those in central government services, are among the most distressed. Frequent relocations across states mean children may have to restart learning a new regional language every few years. “My child has already studied three different languages in five years,” said a government employee. “Now we’re being told to add another. It’s not learning, it’s disruption,” she added.
There is also visible disappointment among parents whose children have invested years in foreign languages like French or German. Many fear that these subjects will be pushed to the margins, affecting future opportunities such as international university admissions or exchange programmes.
Beyond academics, some parents worry about the emotional and cognitive load. “Three languages sound good in theory, but when two of them feel irrelevant to the child’s life, it becomes a burden, not a skill,” another parent said.
Parents across regions have also raised serious constitutional and cultural concerns over the three-language policy.
Keshav Agarwal, President, Educators Federation, said, “In the Northeast, especially in states like Nagaland, the absence of recognised regional languages in the CBSE list has forced students to opt for Hindi or Sanskrit, often without cultural relevance or adequate teachers.
In southern states like Tamil Nadu, the policy is widely seen as linguistic imposition, prompting resistance and even rejection of central funds.” “Centre’s top-down implementation undermines cooperative federalism, as education falls under the Concurrent List, requiring meaningful consultation with states rather than unilateral directives,” Agarwal added.
This story is reported by Ifrah Mufti
