Read Time: 06 minutes

The Supreme Court has emphasised at the need for prescribing minimum marks for mother tongue in linguistic minority schools in order to encourage proficiency of the mother language among children.

"India is a vast country with many diversities including languages. There are sentiments involved in respect of preserving one’s mother tongue i.e. the native language spoken by the people of the States. Persons whose mother tongue is different from the language of the State also reside in that State but would like to maintain their culture and language," a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said.

The apex court was hearing a plea by Linguistic Minorities Forum of Tamil Nadu seeking a direction for developing proficiency of mother tongue for the children studying in Urdu, Kannada, Telugu and other minority languages in the state.

Referring to a number of circulars issued in 2010, 2010 and 1965, the petitioner contended despite those Government Orders, minimum marks are not being prescribed for the mother tongue. 

Their submission was that there will be no incentive nor efficiency obtained in the mother tongue which is the very objective of this benefit which is sought to be enacted for the linguistic minorities.

Upon hearing the counsel for parties, bench said, "We are of the view that the appellant is right in contending that in order to suitably protect the interests of the linguistic minority institutions and the linguistic minorities, while proficiency in Tamil and English is required, they must be incentivised to have a similar proficiency in their mother tongue, albeit, as an optional subject."

The court pointed out this is also the purport of the circulars referred to.

"The medium of instructions in linguist minority institutions is also the mother tongue and thus, proficiency in that language is necessary for the basic educational purposes," the bench said.

Maintaining that the state government can hardly have any quibble with the proposition, the bench added, "It is thus, sufficient for us to opine that these circulars must be followed in true letter and spirit and the result of that is that the minimum marks as is provided for other subjects should also be provided for the mother tongue and reflected in the mark sheet."

The petitioner contended in view of the representations received, the state authorities in 2011 decided to facilitate the children to study in their mother tongue. They decided that the mother tongue subject as an optional should be prescribed with no need to obtain minimum qualifying marks. However, this was subject to the requirement that students who study, Urdu, Kannadam, Telugu, Malayalam their mother tongue also as a subject to pass the exam a minimum mark to be prescribed as done in respect of Tamil.

It further contended still the minimum marks were not prescribed for the mothe tongue.

Case Title: Forum of Tamil Vs Tamil Nadu