NCERT expands multilingual learning resources as Centre promotes mother tongue-based education

New Delhi: The Centre has reiterated its commitment to promoting mother tongue-based education, stating that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 encourages the use of home or regional languages as the medium of instruction at least up to Grade 5, and preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, wherever possible.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary said the initiative is backed by Article 350A of the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, 2009, both of which emphasise providing primary education in a child’s mother tongue, particularly for linguistic minorities.

The minister said the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced new textbooks for Classes 1 to 9 in line with 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 Indian languages, while 368 of 460 textbooks for Classes 4, 5, 7 and 8 have also been translated and made available digitally.

Highlighting the use of technology, the government said the DIKSHA digital learning platform now supports 135 languages, including 128 Indian languages, offering multilingual educational resources, QR-coded textbooks and online teacher training programmes. Initiatives such as NISHTHA, Bhasha Sangam, Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav, Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp, and AI-assisted translation of educational modules have also been launched to strengthen multilingual learning.

The Centre noted that education is a subject on the Concurrent List, allowing states and Union Territories to develop curricula in regional languages according to local needs while aligning with the objectives of NEP 2020.