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Mother Tongue-Based Education Gets a Strong Push Under NEP 2020 as Centre Expands Multilingual Learning
The Indian education system is on a path to enhance linguistic inclusivity. The Union Government has begun to implement mother tongue-based education more broadly in schools. Jayant Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Education, stated in the Rajya Sabha that the government is focusing on home language education based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to make the education system more accessible.
The government's strategy uses the Constitution, a new curriculum, multilingual education textbooks, teacher training, and digital tools to make it possible for young children to begin their education in the language they understand best.
Learning in the Mother Tongue is Constitutionally and NEP 2020 Backed
The Ministry stated that Article 350A of the Indian Constitution supports mother tongue learning, and the National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP 2020) strengthens the constitutional provision.
According to the NEP 2020, the home language, mother tongue, local language or regional language should, where feasible, be the medium of instruction at least up to Grade 5, and preferably be extended up to Grade 8 and beyond. NEP 2020 promotes the use of the Indian languages and bilingual pedagogy along with the provision of adequate and appropriate learning resources.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 states that the medium of instruction, to the extent feasible, should be the child's mother tongue.
How Tech is Shaping Multilingual Education
Learning a new language no longer presents the barriers that it used to thanks to modern tools. According to the Ministry, the DIKSHA platform offers 135 languages (covering 128 Indian languages). The platform provides digital learning resources and QR-enabled textbooks for schools across the nation. The platform is used by all of the States, Union Territories, the CBSE, NIOS, and other major Educational Bodies.
The NISHTHA programme is also strengthening teacher capacity. The online NISHTHA courses are also available in the Indian languages via DIKSHA.
AI and the Digital Economy
Now that the government has begun implementing AI and other technological tools, the educational resources of more Indian languages are within reach.
121 foundational literacy primers were developed by the NCERT in collaboration with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) and the Central University of Odisha. The NCERT also translated educational modules like Navchetna, New Criminal Laws, and Chandrayaan using AI-based translation tools into many Indian languages.
Digital tools are breaking barriers and making content available for education in multiple languages.
Promoting India's Linguistic Diversity
The Ministry introduced new projects that push learners to go beyond the classroom to learn languages. The Bhasha Sangam area of DIKSHA has learning videos and conversational resources for all of the 22 Scheduled Languages. The Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav and Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp have been held across the country to introduce the students, the teachers, and the community to the learning of regional languages as well as the diversity of languages across the Nation and to stimulate the learning and creative participatory acts.
This is part of the effort of the government, as well, to promote multilingual education to preserve the linguistic diversity the Nation has.
States Continue to Play a Key Role
The Ministry commented that education is part of the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Thus, the State Governments and the Union Territories have the obligation of determining the curricula and the methodologies to teach regional languages in consonance with the needs of the State and the principles of NEP 2020.
Final Thoughts
The new update from the Center shows a dedication toward making learning more inclusive and focused on the mother tongue; in this case, the mother tongue is highly encouraged. The integration of the provisions of the Constitution, reforms in the curricula, and the multiservice textbooks and teachers with a digital approach will enable the government to construct classrooms that will allow learners to develop basic skills in the language of their choice.
As the NEP 2020 continues to be implemented in education on the Indian subcontinent, these projects will offer a greater range of multilingual education that will also protect the multitude of regional languages, as well as provide an improvement in the education of students in all regions of the Indian subcontinent.
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