Honey Bangarappa | Photo credit: file photo
To reduce the academic pressure on SSLC students, the Karnataka government has decided not to award marks for third language, including Hindi, in the final results. Instead, a grading system will be followed for the third language. This also applies to the ongoing exam.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa said, “Till now SSLC exam was conducted for 625 marks in six subjects. Hundred marks were allotted for third language. Henceforth, there will be no pass or fail system for third language. This means marks for third language will not be taken into account, for example, marks for third language will not be taken into account. C, D) will be given,” he added.
“This new rule will apply to all third languages in the state curriculum including Hindi, Sanskrit, Tulu, Marathi, Urdu, Arabic and others. An official order in this regard will be issued soon,” he said.
He pointed out that many Kannada organizations and the Kannada Development Authority have raised the issue of a third language, including Hindi, becoming a burden for school children.
“Furthermore, a total of 1.64 lakh students failed in third language and 1.48 lakh students failed in Hindi during last year’s SSLC examination. In many states marks are awarded instead of marks for third language,” the minister said.
When asked whether the third language classification will not prevent the teaching of Kannada in schools where Kannada is taught as a third language, Mr. Bangarappa said, “About 96% of schools in the state teach Hindi as a third language. In the remaining 4% of schools, various languages are accepted as a third language which will not be affected by Kannada. Therefore, after discussing Kannada, a separate policy will not be introduced with experts.”
Decision voted
The Kannada Development Authority (KDA), Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and other stakeholders have welcomed the government’s decision.
“This decision complements the bilingual policy advocated in the State Education Policy (SEP) and will reduce unnecessary language pressure on students and also promote the growth of Kannada,” said Purushottama Bilimale, KDA chairman.
Niranjanaradhya, vice-president of development education, said: “It would be better if the government took this decision at the beginning of the academic year. But this decision will reduce the burden and increase the speed and cognitive learning ability of children.”
TA Narayana Gowda, president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, said, “This is a great achievement in the fight against Hindu oppression.”
However, the Association for the Protection of Indigenous Languages called on the state government to review its decision. “There is a need to review the state government’s decision on third language from the point of view of educational interest, personality development of students and unity of the country,” said Chidananda A. Patil, vice-president of the association.
Published – 27 March 2026 20:23 IST
