Multilingual Education and India

A lot of discussion is going on about the recent directive from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to get serious about implementing the National Education Policy with regards to teaching in the language most familiar to the children. It is good to note the writings that support this move, but we also need to take note of those who raise concerns about the practical feasibility.  The CBSE has issued a directive in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF 2023). Beginning in the 2025–26 academic session, CBSE-affiliated schools are asked to implement a “mother tongue first” approach, making instruction in students’ home or regional languages mandatory during the foundational and preparatory stages of schooling (from pre-primary to Grade 5)( Times of India ). This language directive seeks to reshape how language is approached in early childhood education across India’s diverse linguistic la...

Learning new things from a webinar can be quite enriching. Presenting at a webinar is even a richer experience: Recently I helped design and execute a webinar for the Early Learning Network of India (ELNI) hosted by Tata Trust. Good to talk about the reasons for and the principles for using the local languages in the classroom! The Early Learning Network of India (ELNI) invited education specialists to provide a global perspective in integrating local languages into early education for a webinar. The ELNI, supported by Tata Trusts, regularly hosts webinars focused on early literacy and the use of local languages in classrooms. These sessions bring together educators, researchers, and policymakers to share international and national insights on multilingual education. The ELNI is led by Dr. Shailaja Menon, and promotes early literacy through teacher development and multilingual, research-informed practices in collaboration with institutions and NGOs. During this presentation the topics ...

Jharkhand is a state full of tribal communities and therefore has a rich palette of languages. The state government is implementing the National Curriculum Framework  and has launched the PALASH Multilingual Education Program which aims at enhancing learning outcomes in all subjects by integrating children's first languages in primary education.  Good to note that they are consulting with Language Learning Foundation, UNICEF and other agencies. It will be interesting to watch where it will land in the spectrum between the "pedagogically ideal" and the "political feasible" when it comes to implementation.  The PALASH Multilingual Education Program launched by Jharkhand aims to improve access to education for tribal children by integrating mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE). Tribal children often face educational challenges due to the gap between their home language and Hindi, the medium of instruction in most schools. The PALASH program address...

Good to see that the Rajasthan government is taking concrete steps to bring the local languages into the classroom. It is particularly encouraging to note that this initiative is not only focusing on the language, but also including the culture and folklore. Still, the initiative is not fully in line with the National Education Policy and the common pedagogical consensus that the local language should be the language of instruction as the medium of instruction will remain Hindi. Nevertheless it is clearly a step in the right direction! According to news reports, the Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT) has identified 18 dialects that will be integrated into classroom teaching for classes I to V in state schools in the 2024-25 academic year. The main aim is to reduce the gap between the home and school environments for students.( Education Times / Times of India ) Before this initiative a language mapping survey by RSCERT showed that 20% of teachers wer...