German language issue: Solution must be in interest of students, says envoy

Germany Ambassador to India Michael Steiner on Sunday said that he was confident that New Delhi and Berlin would be able to a find a solution to the recent issue over the teaching of the German language to school students here.

Steiner was responding to the decision by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to scrap German as a 'third language' from Kendriya Vidyalayas across India.

"I know that the Indian government is interested in finding a solution and that has been shown at the highest level, we will find a solution which first and foremost must be in the interest of the students, respecting Indian laws. We will find a pragmatic solution which serves us all," Steiner told the media.

"India, being part of the modern world, will learn other languages. Learning a new language is not a burden, it is an asset," he added.

On being asked for Berlin's reaction over the decision to remove the option of German, Steiner said that the two governments were working to find a practical solution.

"It is not about being happy or unhappy; it is about finding a practical solution. I was confident in that before and now I am even more so after the two leaders [Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel] talked about that and expressed an intent to find a solution which is not in the interests of any government; rather, it is in the interest of the countries and the people," he said.

"You have to preserve and foster your cultural identity - and part of that is Sanskrit, which receives a high amount of respect from Germany because these are brother languages," he added.

Earlier this week, Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said that German has been removed from the option of 'third language' in Kendriya Vidyalayas, adding that the provision to include it as a third language was in violation of Indian policies.

However, Irani clarified that German has not been removed in its entirety, adding that now the language shall be taught under the 'foreign language' category.