Bhubaneswar: Schools in Odisha appear relatively insulated from the impact of implementation of the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) three-language policy from Class 9.The negligible amount of students opting for foreign languages other than English in Odisha has come as a saviour. This comes at a time when the announcement has triggered anxiety and confusion among parents and students elsewhere.School administrators said most CBSE-affiliated schools in the state follow the conventional language combination of English, Hindi or Sanskrit, and Odia, while only a handful offer foreign languages such as French, Spanish or German.The concerns surfaced after CBSE iterated norms linked to the National Education Policy (NEP) under which students are now expected to study three languages. In metropolitan cities, the policy has triggered uncertainty among students who opted for foreign languages as their second language.However, educationists in Odisha said very few CBSE students in the state pursue foreign languages, largely because schools lack specialised faculty and student demand remains low.“The transition is unlikely to cause major academic disruption in Odisha. Most schools here already have a strong regional language base, so adjustments would be minimal,” said educationist Poly Pattnaik.Under the new framework, students will study three languages — R1, R2 and R3 — which would include two mandatory Indian languages. English is already counted as a foreign language.“In Odisha’s context, if a student has already studied English, Odia and another Indian language such as Hindi or Sanskrit till Class 8, there will be little change. They will continue with the same combination till Class 10,” said Niranjan Swain, principal of a Cuttack-based school.However, students studying English, German and either Hindi, Odia or Sanskrit will now have to replace German with a native Indian language. “For students choosing a new Indian language as R3, CBSE has allowed the use of Class 6-level foundational textbooks initially, as the aim is to build basic familiarity with the language. Therefore, there will be no board examination for the new R3 language in Class 10 for the current batch of Class 9 students. It will only be assessed internally and reflected in the CBSE certificate,” he explained.Implementation of the policy, however, will require academic adjustments. Education experts said students will now study six core subjects in Class 9 instead of the existing five, all within the regular six-hour school schedule. Earlier, CBSE mandated five core subjects, two languages and three scholastic disciplines: mathematics, science and social science.“The immediate challenge is accommodating an additional language period in the timetable and preparing internal assessment modalities for students opting for R3,” said academic Sujata Sahoo.Despite the transition support provided by CBSE, faculty members and students in schools offering foreign languages remain anxious. Requesting anonymity, principal of a Bhubaneswar-based school offering international curriculum said the May 15 ministry of education circular mandating three languages in Class 9 has put both school administrations and students under stress. “What happens to students who have been studying a foreign language for several years? These students are entering their board years. How will they attain the requisite competency in a new Indian language within just two years, even if the assessment is internal?” the principal asked.
