Nearly all states have implemented the “three-language formula” up to Class 8, with some extending it to Class 10, though Tamil Nadu remains a notable exception, opting for a two-language policy instead. Most states offer Hindi or Sanskrit as the third language, along with some other language options, while the region’s mother tongue and English serve as the first and second languages, depending on the medium of instruction.
Additionally, there is a growing demand for international languages like French, German, and Spanish in both Hindi and non-Hindi speaking states.
The Tamil Nadu government has been refusing to sign an MoU with the Centre to implement the PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme, which aims to upgrade 14,500 schools and establish them as model schools that embody the spirit of NEP 2020, citing objections over the alleged imposition of Hindi language through the “three-language formula”.
The Centre in response has withheld over Rs 2,000 crore of funds to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. Parliament was Monday rocked with a heated exchange between the Opposition and the Centre over the alleged imposition of Hindi through NEP 2020.
Speaking to ThePrint, Krishna Kumar, an educationist and former director of National Council of Educational Research and Training, argued that no state has fully implemented the “three-language formula” as envisioned.
“Which Hindi-speaking state offers a regional language as a third language, as proposed by the Kothari Commission in 1966?” he asked. “How can we claim they are truly implementing the formula?”
Kumar also raised concerns about the quality of instruction. “While states have been teaching English for years, can students from government schools comfortably read a short story or novel? The standard of teaching the mother tongue is equally poor,” he said. “It’s crucial to address these issues first, rather than debating who is teaching which language.”
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, national executive committee member of the BJP, in a panel discussion with ThePrint Thursday, said no language was being imposed on Tamil Nadu.
“But when has Tamil Nadu proposed an alternative, like teaching Kannada or any other Indian language instead of Hindi? If they come up with a new formula for the three-language policy, that could be a welcome argument. However, all we’re hearing is a repeated focus on Tamil, and we are not against Tamil. But what about the nationally accepted policy that has been endorsed by many, even in Tamil Nadu?” he asked.
“If you view us through a political lens, you should also view the Tamil Nadu government in the same way,” he added.
School principals and experts ThePrint spoke to have highlighted that the shortage of qualified teachers in various Indian languages makes it difficult to offer a wide range of language options.
According to Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Delhi, finding skilled teachers for languages not commonly spoken in the region is particularly challenging. “For example, in Delhi, it’s very difficult to find qualified Sanskrit teachers,” she said.
Praneet Mungali, secretary of Sanskriti Group of Schools, also pointed to the difficulties in hiring qualified teachers, especially for less taught languages. “The scarcity of teachers specialising in local languages, or those willing to relocate, remains a significant challenge,” he told ThePrint.
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What is ‘three-language formula’?
The University Education Commission of 1948-49, chaired by Dr S. Radhakrishnan, who later became the second President of India, extensively addressed the issue of language in India’s education system. At the time, the language question was politically sensitive and contentious.
The Radhakrishnan Commission recommended that Hindi be adopted as the federal language for central activities, including administration, education and culture, while regional languages would serve the provinces. It also suggested that English should continue for federal business until Hindi was sufficiently spread across all provinces.
The commission first proposed the idea that would evolve into the “three-language formula” for school education. This idea was later endorsed by the Kothari Commission (1964-66), which incorporated it into the National Policy on Education of 1968.
The Kothari Commission recommended that students in Hindi-speaking states learn a modern Indian language, preferably a southern language, alongside Hindi and English. In non-Hindi-speaking states, students were to study their regional language, Hindi and English.
Tamil Nadu has historically resisted implementing the Kothari Commission’s recommendation of the three-language formula, terming it an attempt to impose Hindi. The state officially follows a “two-language formula”, with state government schools teaching Tamil and English.
When the central government released the draft of NEP 2020 in 2019, prepared by the K. Kasturirangan Committee, it proposed making Hindi mandatory up to Class 8. This suggestion faced significant resistance from Tamil Nadu and other opposition-ruled states.
However, in the final NEP 2020 document, the “three-language formula” was retained but with a key modification: it no longer mandates specific language choices for states. Instead, the policy allows states, regions and students to choose the languages they wish to study, with the condition that at least two of the three languages must be native to India.
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, revised in line with NEP 2020, extends the “three-language formula” to Classes 9 and 10, ensuring that at least two of the three languages studied are native to India. Additionally, it proposes that students in Classes 11 and 12 must study two languages, with one of them being of Indian origin.
Sanskrit dominates in govt schools in Hindi-speaking states
In many Hindi-speaking states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, the majority of schools, particularly government or aided schools, offer Sanskrit as the third language alongside Hindi and English as the first and second languages.
While regional languages such as Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali are also available as options for the third language, they are typically offered in a limited number of schools based on local demand.
Amit Gautam, a member of Government School Teachers’ Association in Madhya Pradesh, said Sanskrit is the most commonly offered third language, with some schools also providing Urdu, depending on demand. “Hindi-speaking students generally find Sanskrit easier to learn. Additionally, it’s a subject that students tend to score well in,” he told ThePrint.
In Rajasthan, under the “three-language formula”, schools also offer study of Urdu, Sanskrit and Punjabi.
However, according to Vipin Prakash, state president of Rajasthan Primary and Secondary School Association, Sanskrit is by far the most commonly taught third language, with approximately 90 percent schools offering it alongside Hindi and English.
Prakash emphasised that the dominance of Sanskrit is due to shortage of qualified teachers for other languages. “All schools have Sanskrit teachers, so government schools primarily offer Sanskrit. Private schools, however, have more flexibility, offering foreign languages like German and French as well,” he said.
Amit Manhar, a teacher and former state general secretary of Haryana School Lecturers Association, noted that student preferences for third languages vary from region to region. “For example, in Sirsa district, most students choose Punjabi. In the Mewat region, Urdu is more popular, while Sanskrit is the dominant choice in other areas,” he said.
Last month, Haryana extended the “three-language formula” for Classes 9 to 10, offering Sanskrit, Punjabi and Urdu alongside Hindi and English.
Niranjanaradhya V.P., a Karnataka-based educationist, argued that the “three-language formula” has largely failed in north India. “North Indian states never adopted South Indian languages as a third language. In fact, even some north Indian languages, like Punjabi and Kashmiri, were not offered as second or third languages,” he said.
“In Karnataka, we still teach Hindi as a third language in many schools. Now, there is growing consensus in Karnataka, similar to Tamil Nadu, that we should shift to a two-language formula,” he added.
Yogendra Yadav, political activist and national president of Swaraj India, said in the panel discussion that in reality, the entire “three-language formula” has been sabotaged.
“It was actually the Hindi-speaking states that initiated this. They saw Sanskrit as a solution to evade the necessity of teaching a third language, particularly South Indian languages. While there’s no issue with teaching Sanskrit as a classical language, what happened was that these states simply chose Sanskrit as their third language to avoid that challenge,” he asserted.
“And as anyone who’s attended Indian schools knows, the teaching of Sanskrit has unfortunately become a farce. In North India, students don’t even learn a new script because Sanskrit uses the same script, and that’s part of the problem,” he added.
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Hindi dominates as third language in non-Hindi speaking states
In the majority of non-Hindi speaking states, including Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Punjab, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and even West Bengal, government and aided schools offer Hindi as the third language option. Private schools, on the other hand, focus on providing international languages.
According to Shiju Augustine, president of All Kerala Private School Association, schools in the state primarily offer Malayalam as the first language, English as the second, and Hindi or foreign languages as options for third language.
“In most schools, Hindi is the third language. Since Keralites work all over the country, knowing Hindi helps them when they move out of the state. However, many international schools, as well as CBSE and ICSE board schools, now offer foreign languages alongside Hindi as options,” he said.
In Maharashtra, most government and government-aided schools offer Hindi and Sanskrit as third language options, alongside Marathi and English.
Anil Bornare, president of Mumbai Principals’ Association, noted that 90 percent of state board schools offer Hindi as the third language for Classes 6 to 10. “Marathi is the first language, and English is the second. This has been the practice for many years,” he told ThePrint.
In Punjab, too, the majority of schools offer Punjabi and English along with Hindi as third language. The state government also issued a notification last month making Punjabi a core and compulsory subject for Classes 1 to 10, regardless of the educational board.
Ranjan Kumar Dash, secretary of Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association, said that in the state, Odia is mandatory as first language, English is the second language, and Hindi and Sanskrit are offered as third language options. “However, the majority of schools primarily offer Hindi as the third language,” he added.
In Assam, most schools in Assamese-speaking regions offer Hindi as the third language alongside English. “Hindi is primarily offered as the third language. However, in areas where Bodo and other regional languages are spoken as the mother tongue, Assamese is taught as the third language with English and Bodo,” said Ratul Chandra Goswami, general secretary of Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association.
Several states in India have made native languages mandatory in schools.
Maharashtra’s 2020 law requires Marathi to be taught up to Class 10. Last month, Telangana mandated Telugu as a compulsory subject for CBSE, ICSE and IB board schools, starting with Class 9 in 2025-26.
Karnataka’s Kannada Language Learning Act of 2015 mandates Kannada in all schools from Class 1 to 10, while West Bengal’s 2023 education policy emphasises teaching three languages, with Bengali as the mother tongue, from Classes 5 to 8.
Demand for foreign language higher in private schools
Principals of private schools across several states have noted a growing demand for foreign languages as third language options.
Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School in Dwarka, Delhi, said that in addition to Hindi and English, private schools in the city offer Sanskrit along with foreign languages, with German now being the most popular choice.
“While French used to be more popular, German has now overtaken it among students. The demand for Sanskrit or any other regional language remains low in private schools,” she told ThePrint.
Several other principals also agreed. Jyoti Arora of Mount Abu Public School said the school offers both Sanskrit and French as third language options. “However, 75 percent of students choose French. Offering international languages has become essential for private schools, as parents want their children to learn a global language. If one school doesn’t offer it, parents will simply move their children to another,” she explained.
The demand for foreign languages is high across most states. A senior faculty member at Tagore Public School in Jaipur said they offer Spanish and French alongside Sanskrit as options for students.
“Every year, more students opt for Spanish and French than for Sanskrit. Students are eager to learn foreign languages to improve their prospects of studying abroad after school,” said the teacher, who wished to remain anonymous.
Kavita Sanghvi, principal of Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School in Mumbai, said that as a Gujarati minority institution following the ICSE board, the school offers English as first language, with students choosing between Hindi or Gujarati as the second, and Marathi as the mandatory third language.
“However, the majority of private schools offer options like Spanish, French, German and other foreign languages as second language choices. As a minority school, we are unable to offer these options, however, due to high demand, we organise short-term foreign language courses during our summer camps,” she told ThePrint.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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