"The issue is not about which language, Chinese or German, but about the freedom to learn and explore opportunities. Learning a foreign language, besides an Indian language and English, is very common in schools across India.
French has been a favourite for years and in the recent years, other languages such as German and Spanish have become standard options. Perhaps Smriti Irani, our education minister, hasn’t visited any of these places and is not aware of the foreign language craze children have. What she should also realise is that learning foreign languages is not a recreational activity, but a desperate attempt to improve one’s educational and professional possibilities. Indian undergraduate (nearly 50 percent of them engineering graduates) choose Germany as their fifth favourite destination because of the opportunities.
The issue is not of German, French or Mandarin, but of avenues of higher education and better life. By removing the German option, the minister has foreclosed the opportunities of about 70000 students in about 500 Kendriya Vidyalaya schools.
Now, the question of Sanskrit.
What do the children gain by learning Sanskrit? Is it a medium of useful higher learning anywhere - perhaps other than some Vedic studies and astrology? The three language policy is about Hindi, English and an Indian language. So why Sanskrit and why not Tamil or Telugu?
The three language policy itself is flawed. Why should children in non-Hindi states compulsorily learn Hindi? Let learning languages be voluntary. Education and learning are so central to the progress of a nation. Playing politics with it is an unpardonable mistake."
Firstpost.