The Delhi High Court today asked Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to state whether Sanskrit is being replaced, as a third language, by German, French, Chinese and Spanish in schools run by the organization.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Manmohan directed KVS to file its affidavit on the issue by February 19, 2014.
The court's order came on a PIL filed by the Sanskrit Shikshak Sangh, an umbrella body of teachers and scholars of the language, claiming the move not only violates the National Education Policy and the Three Language Formula of 1988 but would also do "irreparable damage to Sanskrit language and Indian culture."
KVS had issued a circular in 2010, directing Kendriya Vidyalayas all over the country to introduce foreign languages in place of Sanskrit as third language from the academic session 2011-12 in classes VI-VIII.
The Three Language Formula prescribes teaching English, one regional language, and one language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. In Delhi, most schools offer Hindi, English and one 'modern Indian language' or Sanskrit.
Advocate Monika Arora, representing the Sanskrit Shikshak Sangh, told the court that the circular issued by KVS in 2010 was also against the provision of the Right to Education Act since it called for training of existing TGT language teachers in the languages so that they could eventually teach the foreign languages to the students of classes VI to VIII.
"The eligibility criteria for teachers are also being violated," Arora said.
The counsel for the Centre, however, told the bench that the government was "taking steps to preserve Sanskrit language". We want Sanskrit to come up," the counsel said.
The petition said the respondents should be directed "to take effective measures for promotion and education of Sanskrit as provided in National Curriculum Framework for School Education and also satisfying various provisions of the Constitution of India".
