The Delhi University on Thursday issued a circular asking all students who had opted out of Hindi subject after class VIII, to appear for a compulsory Hindi test to get a degree.
The exam is scheduled to take place at the end of the semester. The notice appeared first at Satyawati (Evening) College on September 4, 2017 mentioning that the students of first, second and third year who had not studied Hindi beyond class VIII must sit for the Compulsory Hindi Test (CHT) and clearing the exam was mandatory to obtain the degree.
The decision puts students from non-Hindi speaking states, specially the Northeast states and Southern states, in quandary.
In 2016, Delhi University’s Hindi department had asked the principals of the colleges to make a list of all the students who did not study Hindi after class VIII. The department had asked the colleges to begin a course in Hindi to train such students for CHT. The proposal was cleared from the Academic council of Delhi University in July 2016, however, students from the Northeast protested and consequently were exempted from taking the test.
On Tuesday, the North East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS), a students’ body, submitted a memorandum to Satyawati (Evening) College principal Keshav Gupta, highlighting the issue.
