Lok Sabha Question No. 1579 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Compulsory use of Maithili as Medium of Instruction in Mithila Region
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Gopal Jee Thakur

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1579 ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026

## Compulsory use of Maithili as Medium of Instruction in Mithila Region

†1579. Shri Gopal Jee Thakur:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is making arrangements to ensure adequate Central support for the integration of three years of pre-primary education at the foundation stage in rural areas under the National Education Policy, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the strategy adopted by the Government to make mother tongue Maithili, compulsory as the medium of instruction at least upto Class-V in Mithila region;

(c) the manner in which the requirement of making the mother tongue/local language compulsory is  likely  to  be  balanced  with  the  need  for  multilingual  proficiency  at  the  middle  and  secondary level of education;

(d)  whether the Government has finalised the mechanism for the implementation of new Board examinations policy that proposes to conduct exams twice a year; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

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

(a): In the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, for the first time, 3 years of pre-schools (Balvatika)  is  recognized  as  a  continuum  of  education  in  the  5+3+3+4  structure  where  the foundational stage is 3 years of pre-school and grade 1 & grade 2. The Department of School Education (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education (MoE) through the schemes/programmes/initiatives has  ensured  that  the  States  &  Union  Territories  (UTs)  receive  adequate  central  support  to integrate  three  years  of  pre-primary  education  into  the  new  Foundational  Stage  (FS).  As envisaged in NEP 2020, to achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) by end of Grade 2, a national mission called NIPUN Bharat Mission has been launched.

NIPUN Bharat Mission : A flagship national mission called 'National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)' was launched on 5 th  July, 2021 for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains FLN by the end of Grade 2. This Mission has been set up under the aegis of the Samagra Shiksha. All 36 States/Union Territories are implementing NIPUN-Bharat Mission (NBM). Financial norms for the following components are provided under the NBM:

- Support to pre-school education/co-located anganwadi centers (recurring  &  nonrecurring)
- Teaching Learning Materials for implementation of Innovative pedagogies
- Teacher Resource Material/Activity Handbook
- Capacity building of Teachers of Grades I & II
- Independent, periodic and holistic assessment of students
- Formation of Project Management Unit (PMU) at state and district level

In order to integrate the pre-school (Balvatika) in the foundational stage, following progress has been made:

- NCF-FS : National Curricular Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) was released on  20 th October,  2022  providing  a  structure  for  the  syllabus,  training  of  teachers,  Learning Teaching Material (LTM), etc. It is the first ever integrated curriculum framework for children between ages 3-8 in India.
- Vidya Pravesh: A 3-months play based 'School Preparation Module and Guidelines' for Grade I named 'Vidya Pravesh' was launched on 29th July, 2021. The goal of Vidya Pravesh programme is to promote school preparedness in all children coming to Grade- I from diverse backgrounds  (Balvatika,  Anganwadi  Centers  (AWCs),  at  home,  private  play  schools  etc.),  to ensure  a  smooth  transition  of  children  to  Grade-I.  This  programme  is  implemented  across  the country. At present, all 36 States and UTs have implemented Vidya Pravesh Programme.
- Co-location of Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) :  As envisaged in NEP 2020, one of the models to ensure universal access to high quality Early Childhood Care & Education consists of Anganwadis  co-located  schools  having  Grade  1.  In  this  regard,  the  DoSE&L,  MoE  in collaboration with the Ministry of Women & Child Development has launched the 'Guidelines for Co-location of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) with Schools' on 3 rd September, 2025.

(b) & (c): Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution of India and majority of the schools are under the domain of the State Government & UT administration. As per para 4.13 of the NEP 2020, '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.  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.'

The policy of the Government is to promote all Indian languages. The NEP, 2020 lays stress on promoting multilingualism and making efforts to keep Indian languages vibrant. The NEP 2020 mentions that wherever possible the medium of instruction up to at least class 5 and preferably up to class 8 will be in the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language. The policy  emphasizes  that  teaching  should  be  in  the  home  language/local  language/regional language and learning of Indian languages should be integrated with school education so that students have the option of studying in any Indian language. As a follow-up of NEP, 2020, the National  Curriculum  Framework  for  School  Education  (NCF-SE)  2023  was  launched  in  July 2023 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. 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, and AI-based bots-Katha Sakhi, Teacher Tara, and Parent Tara-to support children, teachers,  and  parents.  As  envisaged  in  NEP  2020,  these  initiatives  are  an  integral  part  of  the foundational stage.
- (iii) Primers (launched in March, 2024) have been developed in 121 local languages, 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 5,000+ 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\_Circular\_2025.pdf

(d) & (e): CBSE  has  notified  two  Board  Examinations  in  Class  X  from  2026  and  its mechanism vide its notification dated 25.06.2025. The notification is available at https://www.cbse.gov.in/cbsenew/documents/Notification\_Two\_Board\_Examinations\_Class\_X\_ 2026\_25062025.pdf. The main responsibility of CBSE is to register candidates in Classes IX and XI and to conduct the annual Class X and XII examinations for its affiliated schools. In addition, CBSE undertakes  reforms  in  examination  and  evaluation  practices  to  equip  students  to  meet present  and  future  challenges.  The  recent  reforms,  including  conducting  board  examinations twice a year, are aligned with the NEP 2020, which aims to reduce high-stakes exam pressure and promote flexibility and competency-based learning over rote memorization.

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