CBSE Drops Urdu, thousands of Urdu medium students left clueless

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)‘s decision to provide question papers solely in English or Hindi has put students of Urdu medium schools in a difficult position. This decision impacts Urdu medium schools across India including Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) where students have traditionally been instructed in Urdu. Now, these students are being compelled to choose between English or Hindi while filling out their admission forms, which creates a challenge for those more proficient in Urdu.According to a report in The Telegraph, CBSE directed that question papers for classes 10 and 12 be printed only in English or Hindi, emphasizing that answer sheets written in any language other than these two, without the board’s explicit permission, would not be evaluated. CBSE further noted that students writing answers in a language not permitted by the board would have their results announced without any marks awarded for that subject. This places MANUU students in a precarious situation as many of them are not as comfortable with Hindi or English.The issue has been compounded by the fact that CBSE was fully aware of the Urdu medium of instruction at MANUU schools when granting them affiliation. These schools, established in 2010, were previously provided question papers in English, Hindi, and Urdu until 2020. However, since 2021, the board stopped supplying Urdu-language question papers without prior notice. Despite the change, students continued to write their answers in Urdu for the last three years. But with the latest directive, they will no longer be allowed to do so.An official from one of the MANUU schools expressed frustration, stating that students are facing significant difficulties in understanding question papers in Hindi or English, as they had been accustomed to receiving them in Urdu. The sudden change in policy has left these students struggling, and many are now facing uncertainty regarding their ability to perform well in exams under these new constraints.Thousands of students enrolled in Urdu medium (CBSC) schools will have difficult time due to this decision. Only in Delhi there are 12 CBSC pattern Urdu medium schools. CNI