Parliament Question: Teaching Medium in Educational Institutions

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2540 ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026 Teaching Medium in Educational Institutions 2540. Ms. S Jothimani: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether schools and other educational institutions run by the Government teach students in their mother tongue, except Hindi or a significant language; (b) if so, whether the Government has any language policy governing the medium of instruction in educational institutions; (c) if not, the details of the medium of language presently adopted in such institutions; (d) the number of students who have benefited from the Government's schemes and enrolled for Post- Graduate (PG) from 2014 till date; and (e) the details of recruitment of teaching faculty for education institutions run by the Government, social category-wise, language-wise and State-wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (e): The Government of India has brought out National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Frameworks for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. These policy and curriculum documents promote all Indian languages in school. These documents have been developed after a nationwide deliberation with stakeholders and those concerned about education of children. NEP 2020 and NCF-SE advocate mother tongue-based education with the aim to promote all Indian languages in school because children’s cognitive and academic development is smooth and harmonious when children learn in their languages. Multilingual Education is the pedagogy, policy and goal of language education in school. The NEP 2020 inter-alia provides that it is well understood that young children learn and grasp nontrivial concepts more quickly in their home language/mother tongue. Home language is usually the same language as the mother tongue or that which is spoken by local communities. However, at times in multi-lingual families, there can be a home language spoken by other family members which may sometimes be different from mother tongue or local language. Wherever possible, the medium ofinstruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language. Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. This will be followed by both public and private schools. Further, the NEP 2020 also emphasizes that the three-language formula will continue to be implemented while keeping in mind the Constitutional provisions, aspirations of the people, regions, and the Union, and the need to promote multilingualism as well as promote national unity. However, there will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language will be imposed on any State. The three languages learned by children will be the choices of States, regions, and of course the students themselves, so long as at least two of the three languages are native to India. The NCF-SE 2023, inter-alia, provides that the students will learn at least three languages in their school years, denoted R1, R2, and R3.  R1: This is the language used as medium of instruction (MoI), and in which literacy is first attained. Preferably it should be the most familiar language of the students, which is usually the mother tongue/home language. With India’s linguistic diversity, even within a class-room, it may not be possible to have the home language as the R1 for all students; in such circumstances a language which is familiar to the students should be chosen as R1 – which is often the most commonly used local language.  R2: This could be any other language, including English.  R3: This is any other language that is not R1 or R2. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued circulars pertaining to the availability of entry-level primers for mother tongues/local languages/home languages, promotion of multilingual education and use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction, and the implementation guidelines for language instruction under the NCF-SE 2023 for Foundational and Preparatory Stages. The links to the aforesaid circulars are provided below: o https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Circulars/2023/84_Circular_2023.pdf o https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Circulars/2024/43_Circular_2024.pdf o https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Circulars/2025/30_Circular_2025.pdf The University Grants Commission (UGC) has encouraged the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the country to prepare course structures, syllabi and course material in various Indian languages so as to facilitate teaching-learning and enable students to write examinations in their mother tongue or local language. For this purpose, UGC has issued Guidelines for translation of books into Indian languages vide its letter dated 13.07.2023 to all HEIs. Further, to create an enabling ecosystem of content creation in Bharatiya Bhasha, the UGC in collaboration with Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti has conceptualized a project titled ‘ASMITA’ to promote academic writing and translation in higher education.Further, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has a language policy that promotes the use of Indian languages (mother tongue/regional languages) as a medium of instruction in technical education, in alignment with the NEP 2020. Recruitment is a continuous process & recruitment of teaching faculty in Government and Government- aided educational institutions is carried out by the respective recruiting authorities on pan-India basis, in accordance with the extant provisions and reservation policies of the Government for various social categories, including SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PwD, as applicable. Moreover, since education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India and the majority of schools and colleges are under the domain of the State Governments and UT Administrations, the States and UTs are equipped to take appropriate steps regarding the medium of instruction and recruitment of teaching faculty in their respective educational institutions. ****