What does NEP 2020 state about languages?

Background

• NEP 2020 replaces the National Education Policy of 1986, introducing reforms across school and higher education.
• The policy emphasizes promoting multilingualism, strengthening Indian languages, and ensuring flexibility in language learning.
• Tamil Nadu has opposed the three-language formula, rekindling the language debate.

Relevance : GS 2(Education )

Medium of Instruction

• NEP 2020 recommends that the medium of instruction up to at least Grade 5, preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, should be in the home language, mother tongue, local language, or regional language.
• The policy cites research showing that children grasp concepts better in their mother tongue between the ages of 2 and 8.
• Bilingualism (mother tongue along with English) is encouraged.

Findings of the 8th All India School Education Survey (AISES)

• Conducted by NCERT, AISES studies the medium of instruction and languages taught in schools.
• Declining trend in mother tongue as the medium of instruction:
  • Primary stage: 86.62% of schools use the mother tongue (down from 92.07% in the previous survey).
  • Urban-rural divide:
    • 87.56% of rural schools vs. 80.99% of urban schools use the mother tongue.
    • Previously, it was 92.39% (rural) and 90.39% (urban).

Three-Language Formula

• Evolution of the Three-Language Formula:
  • 1968 Policy:
    • Hindi-speaking states: Hindi, English, a modern Indian language (preferably a South Indian language).
    • Non-Hindi-speaking states: Hindi, English, and a regional language.
• NEP 2020:Greater flexibility—no language will be imposed on any state.Encourages classical languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Pali, Persian, and Prakrit.Pushes for Sanskrit as an option in the three-language formula.

Implementation Challenges

• Poor execution of the three-language policy:
  • Haryana (1969): Tamil was made the second language but removed in 2010 due to lack of Tamil speakers.
  • Himachal Pradesh: Unable to offer Tamil and Telugu due to the unavailability of teachers.
• State Initiatives:
  • Assam (2023): Introduced bilingual textbooks for Science and Maths in Assamese, Bodo, and Bengali.
  • Andhra Pradesh (2023): Launched Telugu-English bilingual textbooks.
  • NCERT (2024): Released digital books in 104 regional languages, including Bengali, Tulu, Dogri, and Car Nicobarese.

Foreign Languages in NEP 2020

• Foreign languages like Korean, Japanese, Thai, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian will be offered at the secondary level.
• CBSE Plan:
  • Till Class 10 → Students must learn two Indian languages.
  • Class 11 & 12 → Option to choose one Indian language and one foreign language.