Consider Indian languages as an optional medium of instruction: CBSE directs schools

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recently communicated with all its affiliated schools, suggesting the incorporation of Indian languages as an alternative medium of instruction alongside the current choices. This option is encouraged to be implemented from pre-primary classes up to Class 12.

Joseph Emmanuel, the Director (Academics) of CBSE, highlighted the significance of multilingual education in promoting linguistic diversity, enhancing cultural understanding, and fostering academic achievements among students. Further, CBSE aims to recognise the value of Indian languages in the educational landscape, offering students the opportunity to learn and engage with their native languages at various academic levels.

According to Mr. Emmanuel, the National Education Policy 2020 underscores the significant cognitive benefits of exposing young learners to multiple languages, especially starting from the foundational stage, with a particular emphasis on their mother tongue. The policy strongly advocates for using the home language, mother tongue, local language, or regional language as the medium of instruction whenever possible, at least until Grade 5 and preferably extending until Grade 8 and beyond, as it can positively impact students’ learning.

Mr. Emmanuel also mentioned the challenges associated with implementing multilingual education. These challenges include the need for skilled teachers who can effectively teach in multilingual settings, the creation of high-quality textbooks in various languages, and the limited time available, particularly in two-shift government schools, as multilingual education demands additional instructional time.

To address some of these challenges, the Ministry of Education has directed the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to develop textbooks in the 22 Scheduled Languages of the country. In addition to this, Mr. Emmanuel expressed that the NCERT is taking this task seriously and giving it the highest priority, with the aim of making these textbooks available to all students starting from the next academic sessions.