``The directive is only from the Directorate and it is not mandatory,'' says L.N. Manchanda, president of All Public School Teachers Association. ``Unless it is a CBSE order, it is unlikely that most schools will implement this,'' he added.

Public school principals have said that once they get the order, they will definitely clarify their stand on the issue with the Directorate. ``The way the project is being thrust on schools is not fair,'' says a public school principal. ``Once I get the order, I will lodge my protest,'' he said.

The order was sent to schools by the Directorate of Education on July 6, instructing all government, government-aided and unaided recognised schools of Delhi to implement the three language formula from July 1. But till date, there are no signs of the project actually taking-off.

In the few schools that have started the programme, shortage of teachers and displeased students pose problems. School administrations are also concerned about rescheduling time-tables to accommodate the extra classes. Going by the calculation of classes required for the third language by the Directorate, there will be four extra classes in a week.

``We have started teaching the subject, but we are still looking for teachers,'' says Mala Majumdar, a Sanskrit teacher at Lady Irwin school. ``Moreover, the students are finding it a burden. They are not mentally prepared to learn three languages again. The whole thing is unexpected.''

Kusum Jain of the Parents Forum for Meaningful Education adds: ``The order is in violation of all the committee reports which spoke of work load. The Chaturvedi Committee report of 1993 clearly states that the reason for the learning load on children is non-availability of the required 210 teaching days. Where will the additional periods for a third language come from.''

According to the Kothari Committee report, 210 teaching days are required. However, the Chaturvedi Committee states that a maximum of 120 to 150 teaching days are only covered in schools because of shortage of time. Parent organisations have said that this additional burden on students is unnecessary.

The government is however all set to promote Sanskrit, which is going to be the third language in most schools. At a Sanskrit Shiksha Sammelan at Talkatora Stadium yesterday, Human Resource Development minister Murli Manohar Joshi said that while English is the language of the world, Sanskrit is the language of the universe. He further said that the government would provide all assistance to promote the language.

Further, in its order, the Directorate of Education has instructed district officials to ``ensure the implementation of three languages formula in the secondary stage in unaided recognised schools''.