In a memorandum to CBSE chairman, Mushawart president demanded to withdraw its decision to drop Urdu as one of the languages to write Class 10 and Class 12 board exams
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM), a confederation of Muslim organisations, has slammed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for its decision to drop Urdu as one of the languages to write Class 10 and Class 12 board exams and demanded to withdraw its decision.
Firoz Ahmed, AIMMM president, on Friday, has sent a memorandum to CBSE chairman Rahul Singh describing the policy of the CBSE as “Anti-Urdu”.
“This policy has not only affected MANUU-affiliated institutions but has also jeopardized the accessibility and continuation of Urdu-medium education nationwide, even at centrally supported institutions such as Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU). By restricting students from writing exams in their mother tongue, CBSE undermines the principle of multilingualism and inclusion endorsed by the New Education Policy 2024, which promotes the nurturing of education in regional languages.” Mushawarat president said.
The Maulana Azad National Urdu University initiated three model schools in 2010 in Hyderabad, Nuh (Haryana), and Darbhanga (Bihar) to cater specifically to Urdu-speaking students. These schools received CBSE affiliation with the full understanding that Urdu was the primary medium of instruction. Until 2020, CBSE provided examination question papers in English, Hindi, and Urdu for students of these institutions.
However, beginning in 2021, CBSE discontinued Urdu as an option for question papers, without prior consultation with MANUU or Urdu medium stakeholders. Since then, students have faced considerable academic challenges, as they are now forced to attempt questions provided only in Hindi and English. Furthermore, in June 2024, CBSE introduced an additional policy that disallows the evaluation of answer papers written in languages other than Hindi or English without prior permission, except in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This has placed significant obstacles on Urdu medium students across the country.
Mushawarat sought the immediate reinstatement of the previous policy allowing students to receive question papers in Urdu and to write their answers in Urdu and the intervention of the Union Minister for Education to uphold multilingual provisions and reconsider the policy that limits the use of Urdu in examinations.
“Urdu is always one of the scheduled national languages of the country and the mother tongue of more than six million citizens of India, as well as one of the official languages of many states of the union. The restriction on question papers and conducting examinations in Urdu is a clear violation of the rights given by the constitution and law,” said Ahmed.
With this memorandum, AIMMM sought to ensure that Urdu-speaking students are granted the respect, accessibility, and linguistic inclusion they are entitled to under national policy. “We trust that CBSE will take prompt action to address these issues,” the memorandum said.
