Page 7 - ELG2102 Feb Issue 474

FEATURES & COMMENT
English or mother tongue in Indian education?

Chryselle D’Silva Dias investigates India’s complex medium of instruction policy

n a bid to boost higher education in India,
the recently introduced New Education
Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends teaching SHUTTERSTOCK
Iin the mother tongue rather than English.
In an article for the Hindustan Times, Union
Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal
said, “It is time we focused on the use of
the mother tongue or regional language as a
medium of instruction in higher education.”
With hundreds of languages being spoken
at home and in local communities, the push
for education in the mother tongue (instead
of English or Hindi) has been ongoing
for decades. But add in complex regional
identities, the desire to learn English for
employment opportunities and liberation
from caste-based restrictions, and you have a
conundrum that still hasn’t been resolved.
In 1968, the Indian government
recommended a three-language education
policy, bringing together Hindi, English and
a regional language. The 2020 edition of
the education policy also promotes the privileged those with proficiency to the fact that education is mostly a state-
three-language formula for schools, where in English (and occasionally those related subject and the politics of language
two must be regional languages and English is with proficiency in Hindi) over governs the decision making more than the
not to be considered as one. those with mother tongue/regional stated national policy.”
This is not without controversy. The language proficiency,” says Dr The Indian government has just announced
southern state of Tamil Nadu still refuses to Deepesh Chandrasekharan, a veteran that the JEE-Main exams (for admission to
allow the introduction of Hindi in education professor of English, and researcher National Institutes of Technology [NITs] and
or governance, preferring to stick to their of language policy and teaching in engineering and architecture courses) will
decades-old policy of having only Tamil and disadvantaged contexts. now be held four times a year, as opposed to
English as the state’s official languages. Other Dr Chandrasekharan sees the inclusion the current two times. While more students
non-Hindi speaking states have also objected of Indian languages in examinations such may be able to access the exams each year,
to the new policy. as JEE as a positive step. “When we do the impact of the implementation of the
Mr Pokhriyal recently The new this, students who are mother tongue policy for the exams remains
tweeted that, from academically bright, but to be seen.
2021, competitive guidelines for medium not proficient enough
examinations in English, can gain
such as JEE (Joint of instruction have been admission to the
Entrance Exams) elite institutions How many languages are
for engineering met with both cautious in a giant step of spoken in India?
and other courses jubilation and open democratization,”
will be conducted in he says. „ Indian has no national language.
regional languages, scepticisme The NEP’s guidelines „ Hindi and English are the two
along with English. for teaching in the official languages.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra mother tongue are, however, not „ The Indian Constitution also
Modi had earlier pointed out that top-scoring mandatory. Educational institutions will have recognises 22 scheduled languages,
countries in the PISA tests use the mother the option of teaching in English or the mother which are widely used across specific
tongue as the medium of instruction. tongue. This comes as a relief to institutions regions of the country.
From 2024, however, the PISA tests will with students from different backgrounds who „ To complicate matters further, India
include an optional English assessment which may speak multiple languages at home. also acknowledges the concept of
might have a different kind of impact on test “If the higher education institutions are ‘mother tongue’ to identify local
scores. India has stayed out of PISA, stating to continue to teach and promote research languages and dialects. The census
that there was a socio-cultural disconnect exclusively or primarily in English, students of 2011 identifies 1,369 mother
between the questions and Indian students, from English-deficient backgrounds who may tongues spoken in the country.
but plans to rejoin in 2021. The World Bank gain admission next year need to be supported
will be supporting the process in the country. with ample scaffolding to improve their
While the government seems to be English language capabilities,” cautions Dr
embracing PISA wholeheartedly, the new Chandrasekharan.
guidelines for medium of instruction have “In the absence of this support, the act Chryselle D’Silva Dias
been met with both cautious jubilation and of including Indian languages will be seen is a freelance writer and
open scepticism. merely as political tokenism, much like the journalist currently based in
“The reason for such optimism is that language policy itself, which has been without Goa, India.
India’s language policy has consistently much impact on the ground. This is owing
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