Non-Tamil students exempted from writing Tamil language paper in Class 10 boards

The exercise of exempting the students from writing the exam shall be completed within two days as the examination is scheduled to begin in March, the bench said.

The Madras high court on Monday directed the School Education Department to continue the exemption granted to all class 10 students whose mother tongue is not Tamil from writing the Part I Tamil language paper during the board exam commencing from next month.

Madras high court has exempted non-Tamil speaking students from taking the Tamil language paper in Class 10 boards exams. (PTI Photo)

The First Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice R Mahadevan granted exemption considering a batch of PILs from linguistic minority institutions.

The petitioners sought a direction to the state school education authorities to exempt the students belonging to other states and having different mother tongues, from writing the Tamil language exam and instead to write it in their respective mother tongue.

The counsels for the linguistic minority Institutions contended that the non-Tamil students will be put into “irreparable loss and hardship” if they were compelled to take Tamil language paper exam.

The matter relates to a government rule making it compulsory for class X students to write Tamil language examination.

The counsels submitted that though the Act was brought into force in 2014, till date no rules were framed for its implementation.

After hearing the arguments, the bench directed the government to continue the exemption to students having mother tongue other than Tamil from writing Part I Tamil language during the board exam.

The exercise of exempting the students from writing the exam shall be completed within two days as the examination is scheduled to begin in March, the bench said.

The high court had in an order last year gave the exemption to the students from writing Tamil language paper.