I belong to the Hindi- speaking belt in India and even my nieces and nephews don't study the kind of Hindi my children do. My mother tongue is Hindi. I have studied it and did well too. Still I flounder as I tutor my children. Imagine the problems of Indians from other states whose children study Hindi and whose parents face an uphill task. Many parents have had no previous exposure to Hindi and are lost.

When I started my children on Hindi, it was to ensure they remain in touch with their roots and can communicate with relatives back home. Also in mind was the fact that I was unequipped to deal with second languages offered by local schools. I did not and do not wish to see them gain mastery over Hindi - it is irrelevant in today's world. This type of Hindi is probably found only in government offices in north India - and even they don't need to know 120 proverbs - 120 being the number my Primary 5 son is expected to memorise and make sentences with.

Most students in the Parallel Hindi Programme pay fees of $50 to $120. This is apart from tuition classes many parents pay for. We pay for services but there is no accountability from the Hindi Society. Questions are unanswered, concerns are unaddressed and feedback is unwelcome. Also, a lot of Hindi teachers are not native speakers.

With the drastic changes in curriculum, the Hindi Society will have to rethink its policy of not returning SA1 and SA2 papers to students. These exams serve a twofold purpose - teachers can assess a child's level of knowledge, and students see their strengths and weaknesses in the way they answer the paper.

Sonia Mehrotra (Ms)