Hindi or Sanskrit for class 9? He scores better in Sanskrit and enjoys Hindi more

orchid_pigeon_662626 Apr 2026

The class 9 language choice is on our son's re-registration form, due back before the holidays. He has done both since class 6. His Sanskrit marks are consistently higher, mostly because the papers are predictable and he memorises well. Hindi he reads for pleasure, but he loses marks on the long answers. The choice carries into class 10, so it's two years and a board exam. I lean towards Hindi. My partner thinks marks matter more in a board year. Has anyone's child taken the 'easier' language and regretted it, or the other way round?

3 comments

pebble_moon_681526 Apr 2026
Ours is years away from this, so a genuine question: is the choice fixed once class 9 starts, or can students switch after the first term if it isn't working?
- banyan_kettle_890226 Apr 2026
  Not CBSE in our house, but my nephew's school allowed a switch only in the first few weeks of class 9. After that they said no because of board registration. I think it varies, so best to ask the school directly.
indigo_kite_271726 Apr 2026
Sit with his class 8 Hindi long answers. If what's missing is structure, that improves with practice. Memory-based scoring also gets harder in 9 and 10 as the syllabus grows. I'd pick the one he'll open without being asked.
velvet_balcony_756026 Apr 2026
We had the same argument over Hindi versus a foreign language for our daughter in ICSE. We went with marks. She does fine, but she has never read a word of that language outside the textbook, and I do wonder what we gave up. No right answer, only that marks weren't the whole story for us.
- orchid_pigeon_662627 Apr 2026
  That's the part that bothers me too. He reads Premchand stories on his own, which I never did at his age. We've filled in Hindi. My partner has agreed to 'review it after the first unit test', which means we'll argue again in July.