Lok Sabha Question No. 2416 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-05-09
Subject: Primary Education in Regional Language
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: VINOD CHAVDA, A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2416 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09 th  May, 2016

## Primary Education in Regional Language

## 2416. SHRI VINOD LAKHAMASHI CHAVDA: SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  encourage  use  of  mother tongue/regional language in imparting education at primary level and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b)  whether it is a fact that the students who are taught in their mother tongues perform better at primary level and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a): National Policy of Education, 1986 (as amended in 1992), recognises that  regional languages  are  already  in  use  as  medium  of  education  at  the  primary  and  secondary stages. The policy also underlines the need to develop curricula and devise instructional materials in tribal languages at the initial stages, with arrangements for switching over to the  regional  language.  The  National  Curriculum  Framework,  2005  emphasizes  the importance  of  imparting  primary  education  in  the  mother  tongue  of  the  child.  As  per Section 29 (2)(f) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009,  the  medium  of  instruction  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  in  the  child's  mother tongue.  Many  States  have  developed  material  in  the  mother  tongue,  mostly  tribal languages,  of  children  where  the  mother  tongue  is  different  from  the  medium  of instruction  at  the  school.  The  State-wise  detail  on  material  developed  by  States  in  the mother tongue is at Annexure.

- (b): No  survey  for  specific  comparison  of  performance  of  the  students  based  on teaching-learning in the mother tongue has been undertaken by the Central Government. The National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training    periodically  conducts  the National Achievement Surveys (NAS) of learning achievement of the children in classes -  III,  V,  VIII,  and  X,  but  this  does  not  compare  student  learning  based  on  teachinglearning in the mother tongue. However, international studies have shown positive impact of instruction in the mother tongue.

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## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO  PART (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2416  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  09.05.2016  ASKED  BY  SHRI  VINOD LAKHAMASHI CHAVDA and SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN  REGARDING 'PRIMARY EDUCATION IN REGIONAL LANGUAGE'.

## State-wise list wherein the textbooks have been provided in Different languages.

|   S. N. | State               | Languages - Textbooks are Published                                                               | Medium of Instruction                                                  | MLE programme   |
|---------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|
|       1 | A.& N Island        | Hindi and English.                                                                                | Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali                                 | No.             |
|       2 | Andhra Pradesh      | Telugu, Urdu, English, Hindi and Oriya                                                            | Telugu, Urdu English                                                   | Yes             |
|       3 | Arunachal Pradesh   | English, Hindi and third language                                                                 | English                                                                | Yes             |
|       4 | Assam               | Deuri, Tiwa, Rabha, Mising, Tai , Karbi, Arabic, Diniyat, Assamee, English, Sanskrit              | English - Hindi                                                        | Yes             |
|       5 | Bihar               | Hindi, Urdu, Bangla, English, Sanskrit                                                            | Hindi, Urdu, Bangla                                                    | No              |
|       6 | Chandigarh          | English and Hindi                                                                                 | English, Hindi, Punjabi                                                | No              |
|       7 | Chhattisgarh        | Hindi, English                                                                                    | Hindi                                                                  | Yes             |
|       8 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi &English                                                                 | Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi& English                                      | No              |
|       9 | Daman &Diu          | Gujarati, English, Hindi                                                                          | Gujarati and English.                                                  | No              |
|      10 | Delhi               | Hindi, English &Urdu                                                                              | Hindi, English &Urdu                                                   | No              |
|      11 | Goa                 | Marathi, konkani, Hindi, Urdu, English, Marathi                                                   | Marathi, Konkani, Urdu, English, Urdu                                  | No              |
|      12 | Gujarat             | Gujarati, Hindi, English, Marathi, Sindhi, Tamil, Urdu                                            | Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Sindhi, Tamil, Urdu                          | No              |
|      13 | Haryana             | Hindi, English, Punjabi, Sanskrit                                                                 | Hindi                                                                  | No              |
|      14 | Himachal Pradesh    | Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Dogri, Pahadi                                                 | Hindi                                                                  | No              |
|      15 | Jammu &Kashmir      | English Kashmiri and Pahari, Hindi, Urdu                                                          | English                                                                | Yes             |
|      16 | Jharkhand           | Hindi / English                                                                                   | Hindi                                                                  | Yes             |
|      17 | Karnataka           | Kannada, English, Hindi, Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Telagu, Sanskrit, Konkani (Devnagari) (Kan), Marathi | Kannada, English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.              | No              |
|      18 | Kerala              | Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, English, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit and Arabic                              | Malayalam,                                                             | Yes             |
|      19 | Lakshadweep         | Malyalam and English                                                                              | Malayalam and English medium.                                          | No              |
|      20 | Madhya Pradesh      | Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit and Marathi                                                        | Hindi, English, Urdu and Marathi                                       | Yes             |
|      21 | Maharashtra         | Marathi, Hindi, English, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannad, Telgu and Sindhi.                                | Marathi, Hindi, English, Urdu, Gujrati, Kannad, Telgu and Sindhi Tamil | No              |
|      22 | Manipur             | English, Hindi and Manipuri.                                                                      | Manipur and English.                                                   | Yes             |
|      23 | Meghalaya           | Khasi, Garo. English and Hindi                                                                    | Mother tongue and English                                              | Yes             |
|      24 | Mizoram             | Mizo, English and Hindi                                                                           | Mizo etc.                                                              | Yes             |
|      25 | Nagaland            | English, Hindi                                                                                    | English                                                                | Yes             |
|      26 | Odisha              | English, Bengali, Telugu and Urdu and Mother Tongue, Hindi, Sanskrit and Odia                     | Odia.                                                                  | Yes             |
|      27 | Puducherry          | Tamil, English, French, Malayalam, English, and Telugu                                            | Tamil, English, French, Malayalam, English, and Telugu                 | No              |
|      28 | Punjab              | Punjabi, Hindi &English                                                                           | Punjabi                                                                | No              |
|      29 | Rajasthan           | Hindi, English, Sanskrit                                                                          | Hindi                                                                  | No              |
|      30 | Sikkim              | Hindi, English                                                                                    | English.                                                               | Yes             |
|      31 | Tamil Nadu          | Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada                                                        | Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu and Telugu                             |                 |
|      32 | Tripura             | Bengali, English, Manipuri and Kokborak, a major tribal language.                                 | Bengali, English and Kokborak, a major tribal language of Tripura.     | Yes             |
|      33 | Uttar Pradesh       | Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Urdu                                                                 | Hindi.                                                                 | No              |
|      34 | Uttarakhand         | Hindi English, Sanskrit, Urdu                                                                     | Hindi. st                                                              | No              |
|      35 | West Bengal         | Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Santali in Olchiki Scripts, Arabic, Oriya and Telegu medium.        | In their respective 1 language.                                        | No              |