Centre Pushes Mother Tongue Education, Expands Multilingual Learning Resources: Jayant Chaudhary
New Delhi, July 29 (TNT): The Centre is promoting mother tongue-based education through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by expanding multilingual textbooks, digital learning resources and teacher training programmes, Minister of state for Education Jayant Chaudhary informed in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Chaudhary said Article 350A of the Constitution mandates states to endeavour to provide adequate facilities for primary education in the mother tongue for children belonging to linguistic minority groups.
He said the NEP 2020 recommends that the medium of instruction should, wherever possible, be the home language, mother tongue or regional language up to at least Grade 5 and preferably till Grade 8 and beyond.
The minister said the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed new textbooks for Classes 1 to 9 under the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. Textbooks for Classes 1, 2, 3 and 6 have been translated into all 22 Scheduled Languages, while 368 of 460 textbooks for Classes 4, 5, 7 and 8 have also been translated and made available digitally.
He said NCERT has developed multilingual teaching-learning materials, including Jaadui Pitara for Balvatika, foundational learning resources and primers in 121 scheduled and non-scheduled Indian languages.
Chaudhary said the DIKSHA digital platform currently supports educational content in 135 languages, including 128 Indian languages, while teacher training under the NISHTHA programme is available in multiple Indian languages.
He said NCERT has also translated educational modules using AI-enabled tools and launched initiatives such as Bhasha Sangam, Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav and the Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp to promote multilingual education across the country.
The minister noted that education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and states and Union Territories are free to develop curricula in regional languages according to local requirements in line with the NEP 2020.
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