New Delhi, June 18: The Central Board of Education (CBSE) has removed 17 languages including Tamil from the list of options for Central Teacher Eligibility Test 2018. According to reports, the board has limited the options of languages to Hindi, English and Sanskrit. Candidates will now have to choose two languages out of the three.  The list of languages dropped includes Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati and Bengali.

The national teachers' test is mandatory for appointment of teachers in Kendriya Vidyalayas and private institutions affiliated with the CBSE. The test is divided into Paper I (those opting to teach Classes I to V) and Paper II (those opting to teach Classes VI to VIII). Aspirants are required to score 60 per cent or above to clear it.

Following the decision, DMK leader Kanimozhi has slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling it "another effort to make it a Hindi-Hindu Hindustan". "The decision to drop Tamil & 16 other regional languages from Central Teacher Eligibility Test is highly condemnable and strikes at the root of federalism. Students of CBSE whose mother tongue is Tamil will be put to a great disadvantage without teachers," Kanimozhi tweeted.

"Students are forced to study Hindi & Sanskrit instead of their mother tongue. This will lead to another language struggle through out the country. This is another of BJPs efforts to make a Hindi-Hindu Hindustan," she added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 03:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).