Chandigarh, February 3
The Punjab government has taken an in principle decision to make the teaching of Punjabi language compulsory in all schools of the state, irrespective of the boards they were affiliated to.

Once notified, teaching Punjabi would become mandatory even in Central Schools, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the institutes affiliated to CBSE, ICSE or any other board. Notably, these schools were exempted in an earlier notification for implementing the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and other Languages Act, 2008. now, Punjabi is proposed to be taught as a compulsory subject from Class I to Class X.

The government has based its decision on the opinion of the Advocate General Office even though the Legal Remembrance Punjab had suggested that notifying the Central Schools and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas under clause (e) of Section 2 of the legislation may not withstand judicial scrutiny. He had suggested that the Union government should be consulted before taking any such decision.

Confirming that he had opined in favour of bringing all schools, including minority institutions, under the purview of the Act, Advocate General HS Mattewal said: “Education experts are unanimous in their opinion that pupils should begin their school through the medium of their mother tongue. The introduction of foreign language tends to threaten to atrophy the development of the mother tongue. When the pupil comes of age and reaches Class V, the second language can be introduced.”

Sources in the government said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had made up his mind and asked the department concerned to issue a notification to bring all schools, aided, non-aided, government or private, under the ambit of clause (e) of Section 2 of the Act. Notably, Punjab is looking at the Karnataka example where learning and teaching of Kannad had been made mandatory for all.