CBSE to Offer Mandarin Language as an Elective from Class VI

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to introduce Mandarin language as an elective subject from Class VI onwards in all the schools affiliated to the board from the current academic session, 2014-15. This decision clearly seems as the effect of the rising global blow of our giant neighbor, China.

In September 2012, the CBSE had started a pilot project to teach Mandarin in some selected schools only, and the success of which has encouraged the board to give it a full blow now. By offering the Mandarin as elective, the CBSE will young students a head start in the language being spoken by the world's one of the highest growing economies. The board believes that learning from an early age will help students gain fluency by the time they will leave high school.

The Director of the Board, Sadhana Parashar, said in a short letter to schools that since Mandarin is spoken by a large population of the world, the Board has also started offering Chinese in Class VI from April 2014. Also, in another letter sent earlier to schools regarding the same topic, Parashar said that in the view of China emerging as one of the major global economies and Mandarin being spoken by a large population of the world, the board offers Chinese in Class VI from current academic session.

At present, the CBSE offers 34 languages at the secondary and senior secondary level, which include 12 foreign languages.