No sanctioned Tamil teachers in Kendriya Vidyalayas, only 24 part-time teachers, Union Minister tells Kanimozhi

Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary speaks in the Lok Sabha on March 10, 2025. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI

The Union Ministry of Education, in response to a question raised by DMK Member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi in the Lok Sabha, said Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in Tamil Nadu do not have sanctioned posts for Tamil teachers. Only 24 part-time contractual teachers have been engaged, according to Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary.

“Kendriya Vidyalayas are ‘specified category’ schools, as defined in the Right to Education Act, and have been established with a mandate to have a uniform scheme of education. Therefore, the sanctioned posts of language teachers are those of Hindi, English, and Sanskrit. However, there is an enabling provision for teaching of other languages for the willing students between Classes VI to VIII, vide Article 112 of the Education Code for Kendriya Vidyalaya. As per this provision, a teacher can be engaged on a part-time contractual basis if 15 or more students opt for it,” the Minister said.

Mr. Chaudhary said the number of teachers engaged in Kendriya Vidyalayas on a part-time contractual basis for teaching of Tamil, as opted by the students, is 24. “Additionally, learning of Tamil language in 21 KVs is being undertaken through Tamil Virtual Academy (TVA), an autonomous organisation under Tamil Nadu state for students interested in learning Tamil. There are 86 Hindi and 65 Sanskrit teachers in Tamil Nadu at present,” he said.

The Minister also said there would be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language would be imposed on any State. “The three languages learned by children will be the choices of States, regions, and of course the students themselves, so long as at least two of the three languages are native to India,” he said in a reply to Ms. Kanimozhi, who had sought details of the languages taught under the three-language formula in different States and State-wise. She had also sought the number of students studying three languages and the number of students studying non-Hindi languages in Hindi-speaking States.

He said students wishing to change one or more of the three languages they were studying might do so in Grade 6 or 7, as long as they demonstrated basic proficiency in three languages (including one language of India at the literature level) by the end of secondary school.