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All Lakshadweep school to shift to CBSE english medium from next year
An order issued by Rakesh Dahiya, director of education, on Tuesday, stated that all schools in the UT will admit students exclusively under the CBSE English medium stream from grade 1 onwards from the 2024-25 academic year
The Lakshadweep education department has announced that all schools under it will be transformed from Malayalam to CBSE English medium from the next academic year, in a decision aimed at “elevating the standard of education” in the Union Territory and “aligning with the dynamic educational landscape”.
An order issued by Rakesh Dahiya, director of education, on Tuesday, stated that all schools in the UT will admit students exclusively under the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) English medium stream from grade 1 onwards from the 2024-25 academic year.
“With the aim of elevating the standards of education and aligning with the dynamic educational landscape, the Department of Education, union territory of Lakshadweep, has resolved to transition SCERT [State Council of Education Research and Training] Kerala Malayalam medium classes to CBSE English medium,” the order said.
Existing students of grades 2 to 8 in the Malayalam medium SCERT schools will also shift to CBSE English medium from next year onwards.
As for students of classes 9 and 10, the shift will be systematically executed within a two-year timeframe ensuring “minimal disruption” to ongoing board examinations, the order stated.
“This migration is designed to equip students with essential skills and knowledge for their future academic and professional pursuits recognising the substantial role of the CBSE curriculum in preparing students for competitive examinations and 21st-century skills,” it said.
The education department further said that English, Malayalam and Hindi will be offered as the three languages in accordance with the guidelines of the National Education Policy, 2020. “This approach ensures comprehensive learning of the three languages and alleviates the burden on students, preventing the necessity to learn more than three languages during the school studies,” the order said.
According to the UT education department, as of the 2022-23 academic year, there were 51 schools in Lakshadweep with over 8,200 students and 1,021 teachers. Many of these schools currently offer classes in both Malayalam and English medium.
A government school headmaster, requesting anonymity, slammed the UT administration’s move, saying it takes away the right of students to choose a medium of education of their preference.
“This is absolutely wrong. The option of choosing the medium of instruction should be left to the students and the parents. It should not be imposed on them,” the headmaster told HT. “Moreover, the students currently in Malayalam medium will find it hard to adapt to the CBSE English medium curriculum suddenly next year. People here are mostly from ordinary social background and they may want their kids to be taught in Malayalam. They should be given that right.”
