Lok Sabha Question No. 1341 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-08
Subject: Three Language Policy
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1341 ANSWERED ON 08.12.2025

## Three Language Policy

1341. Shri Janardan Singh Sigriwal:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  three-language  formula  has  been  uniformly  implemented  in  the  country,  if  so, the details thereof;

(b)  whether  there  has  been  any  resistance  to  the  inclusion  of  Hindi  or  any  other  language under the three-language policy, if so, the details thereof;

(c)  whether  the  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  has  brought  any  significant  changes  to the three-language formula, if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether  there is any data on the impact of the three-language policy on students' academic performance, if so, the details thereof; and

(e)  whether  the  implementation  of  the  three-language  formula  poses  challenges  in  terms  of teacher  availability  and  training  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  steps  taken  by  the Government to address the said issue?

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

(a)  to  (e):  The  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  at  para  4.13  provides  that  the  threelanguage  formula  will  continue  to  be  implemented  while  keeping  in  mind  the  Constitutional provisions,  aspirations  of  the  people,  regions  as  well  as  the  Union,  and  the  need  to  promote multilingualism for promoting 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. In particular, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or 7, as long as they are able to demonstrate basic proficiency in three languages (including one language of India at the literature level) by the end of secondary school.

As per  NEP  2020,  the  National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and  Training  (NCERT)  has developed  the  National  Curriculum  Framework  for  School  Education  (NCF-SE)  2023  which inter-alia provides the following:

- i. Two  languages  at  the  foundational  and  preparatory  stage  -  out  of  which  one  is native to India.
- ii. Three languages at the middle and secondary stage (Grades 9 & 10) - out of which two are native to India.
- iii. Two languages  at  the  secondary  stage  (Grades  11  &  12)  -  out  of  which  one  is native to India.

NEP, 2020 at para 4.12 inter-alia provides that as research clearly shows that children pick up languages  extremely  quickly  between  the  ages  of  2  and  8  and  that  multilingualism  has  great cognitive  benefits  to  young  students,  children  will  be  exposed  to  different  languages  early  on (but  with  a  particular  emphasis  on  the  mother  tongue),  starting  from  the  Foundational  Stage onwards.

NEP 2020 further states that all languages will be taught in an enjoyable and interactive style, with  plenty  of  interactive  conversation,  with  early  reading  and  subsequently  writing  in  the mother  tongue  in  the  early  years,  and  with  skills  developed  for  reading  and  writing  in  other languages in Grade 3 and beyond.

As  a  follow-up  of  the  NEP  2020,  new  textbooks  developed  by  the  NCERT  integrate multilingualism perspective across subject areas. Further, NCERT has translated Grade 1, 2, 3 and  6  textbooks  of  subject  areas  into  22  scheduled  languages.  NCERT  has  also  developed primers in 121 languages.

NEP,  2020  also  provides  that  there  will  be  a  major  effort  from  both  the  Central  and  State Governments to invest in large numbers of language teachers in all regional languages around the  country,  and,  in  particular,  for  all  languages  mentioned  in  the  Eighth  Schedule  of  the Constitution of India. States may enter into bilateral agreements to hire teachers in large numbers from  each  other,  to  satisfy  the  three-language  formula  in  their  respective  States,  and  also  to encourage the study of Indian languages across the country. Extensive use of technology will be made for teaching and learning of different languages and to popularize language learning.

Further, since Education is a subject under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, the respective State and Union Territory (UT) Governments may decide on the modalities of implementing the Three Language Policy, in accordance with the spirit and recommendations of the NEP, 2020. The Policy emphasizes the promotion of multilingualism and encourages States/UTs to adopt the Three Language Formula in a flexible manner, keeping in view local needs, linguistic diversity, and implementation feasibility.

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