Lok Sabha Question No. 4949 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Implementation of Mother-Tongue Based Education
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-4949 ANSWERED ON-23/03/2026

## Implementation of Mother-Tongue Based Education

4949. Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  and  subsequent  policy  decisions  have provision  for  teaching  in  local  and  tribal  languages  at  foundational  and  primary  levels  to improve comprehension among students, particularly in tribal districts such as Nandurbar in Maharashtra, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of specific steps taken by the Government to develop curriculum, textbooks and digital learning content in tribal languages and dialects, including collaboration with linguistic experts and State authorities;

- (c)  whether  teachers  are  being  recruited  or  trained  with  multilingual  competencies  to implement mother-tongue-based education effectively;
- (d)  the  details  of  the  financial  and  institutional  support  extended  to  States  for  promoting regional language instruction in schools; and
- (e) the measurable Impact of these initiatives on learning outcomes, enrolment and retention among tribal students?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): The  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  recognizes  the  vital  role  of multilingualism and mother tongue based education. Para 4.12 of NEP 2020 emphasizes that wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, and preferably till Grade 8 and  beyond,  should  be  the  child's  mother  tongue/home  language/local  language.  This  is reinforced by the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023, which places  the  child's  linguistic  context  at  the  heart  of  learning  and  lays  a  clear  roadmap  for structured multilingual education and the following initiatives have been taken in the area of school education to promote Indian languages:

(i) NCERT has developed and published textbooks in 22 scheduled languages for Grades 1 to 3 and 6.  Similarly, all books of classes 4,5,7 to 12 will be published in all Schedule 8 languages and English. The textbooks are available at NCERT's website https://ncert.nic.in.

(ii) The Jaadui Pitara (JP), a set of 53 play-based learning-teaching materials for ages 3-8 was launched on 20 th February 2023. Available in 22 Indian languages and English, JP includes toys, puzzles, story cards, flashcards, and teacher handbooks. Its digital extension, the e-Jaadui Pitara, launched on 10 th February 2024, offers multilingual stories, activities, songs in 22 Indian languages. As envisaged in NEP 2020, these initiatives are an integral part of the foundational stage.

(iii) The  Ministry  of  Education  (MoE)  through  NCERT  and  Central  Institute  of Indian  Languages  (CIIL),  Mysuru  along  with  the  Tribal  Institutes  has  developed  Primers (launched in March, 2024) in 121 local languages including tribal lanaguage for FLN in mother tongues spoken by populations of at least 10,000. Primers are available at https://ncert.nic.in/primers.php?ln=en.

(iv) The Ministry of Education initiated a nationwide programme to promote all Indian languages through the programme of Bhasha Sangam. Children in school learn 100 sentences in the 22 scheduled languages with audio and video support. Schools across the country  are  participating  and  learning  the  Indian  languages.  Both  textual  and  audio-video materials are available on DIKSHA portal at https://ncert.nic.in/bs-2021.php.

(v) The Rashtriya e-Pustakalaya provides quality books to children and adolescents, ensuring accessibility across diverse geographies, languages, genres, and educational levels. The  platform  offers  6,000+  non-academic  books  in  23  languages  making  a  wide  range  of resources available to users.

- (vi) The PM e-Vidya initiative has expanded to 200 DTH TV channels with vision of 'One Nation, One Digital Platform', delivering curriculum-aligned content in various 128 Indian languages and 7 foreign languages, enhancing reach and inclusivity of rural area.
- (vii) Central  Board  of  Secondary  Education  (CBSE)  has  prescribed  using  child's home language, mother tongue or a familiar regional language , as a medium of instruction at the foundational stage and also at the preparatory stage. The notification dated 22.05.2025 is available at https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web\_material/Circulars/2025/30\_Circul ar\_2025.pdf

The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  has  also  launched  a  National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in 2019-20. Under  NISHTHA  FLN,  modules  such  as  'Multilingual  Education  in  Primary  Grades'  are specifically  included  to  equip  teachers  with  strategies  for  addressing  linguistic  diversity  in classrooms.

The National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), developed by NCTE under para 5.20 of NEP 2020, establishes a uniform framework for teacher competency. To facilitate this, NPST guiding document was released by NCTE, available in accessible formats including Braille,  audio,  and  22  scheduled  languages.  It  guides  teachers  to  create  inclusive  learning environments  that  respect  and  integrate  students'  home  languages,  thereby  strengthening multilingual  education  in  classrooms  and  supporting  equitable  learning  outcomes  across diverse linguistic contexts.

The  Four-Year  Integrated  Teacher  Education  Programme  (ITEP),  aligned  with  the National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020,  is  designed  to  prepare  professionally  competent teachers through a multidisciplinary and holistic approach that integrates content, pedagogy, values,  and  practice.  The  programme  emphasizes  grounding  student-teachers  in  Indian languages, cultural contexts, and Indian knowledge systems, including tribal traditions, while equipping them with skills to address diverse classroom realities.

States/UTs  including  Maharashtra  are  encouraged  through  review  meetings,  PAB meetings and other platforms to operationalize multilingual strategies by mapping learners' mother tongues, facilitating availability of learning materials in local languages, and training teachers for multilingual pedagogies.

Financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States  and  UTs  (including  Maharashtra)  for implementation of the interventions under Samagra Shiksha (including promotion of regional languages instructions in schools) as per the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) under Samagra Shiksha prepared by the States and UTs based on their requirements and priority.

The  Government  of  India  conducts  periodic  large-scale  assessments,  to  measure learning  and  education  outcomes  across  the  country,  through  PARAKH  (Performance Assessment,  Review,  and  Analysis  of  Knowledge  for  Holistic  Development)  Rashtriya

Sarvekshan, which is conducted by National Assessment Centre, PARAKH under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. The primary objective of this survey is to evaluate the learning competencies  of  students  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  educational  stages  i.e.  Foundational, Preparatory,  and  Middle. The  latest  PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  was  conducted  on December 4, 2024. A comparative analysis of State-wise average scores at foundational stage during National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 and PRS 2024 reflects the depth and impact of NIPUN Bharat Mission.

There is an improvement in learning achievements of the students reflecting the success of NIPUN Bharat Mission across the country. It also shows that the performance of children in Grade 3 in rural and government schools is better than urban and private schools, indicating clear  improvement  in  learning  outcomes  from  previous  survey.  This  can  be  accessed  at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en.

The details of retention rates, based on UDISE+, are tabulated below: -

| Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   | Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   | Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   | Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   | Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   | Retention rate at different levels (including tribal students)   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| India                                                            | Year                                                             | Foundational                                                     | Preparatory                                                      | Middle                                                           | Secondary                                                        |
| India                                                            | 2023-24                                                          | 98.0                                                             | 85.4                                                             | 78                                                               | 45.6                                                             |
| India                                                            | 2024-25                                                          | 98.9                                                             | 92.4                                                             | 82.8                                                             | 47.2                                                             |

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