Lok Sabha Question No. 4906 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Colleges and Universities with English as Medium of Instruction
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Adhikari Soumendu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-4906

ANSWERED ON- 23/03/2026

## Colleges and Universities with English as Medium of Instruction

## 4906 Shri Adhikari Soumendu:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of colleges and universities in which english is the medium of instruction and the corresponding figures for regional language for the latest available year 2024, Statewise;
- (b) the total enrolment of students by medium of instruction (English, Regional Language, Hindi) in higher education during the last five years, State/year-wise; and
- (c)  whether  there  has  been  an  increase  or  decrease  in  the  number  of  institutions  and students  choosing  regional  languages  as  the  medium  of  instruction  and  if  so,  the implementation details by the State authorities?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

- (a)  to  (c):  All  India  Survey  on  Higher  Education  (AISHE)  database  does  not  maintain information regarding the institutions' medium of instruction. As per the information received from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the information about medium of instruction in  the  programmes  being  offered  by  the  Higher  Education  Institutions  is  not  centrally maintained  by  UGC.  Universities,  being  autonomous  institutions,  make  decisions  on academic matters, including the medium of instruction through their Statutory Bodies.

Further, in alignment with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, several initiatives have been undertaken for the promotion of Bharatiya Bhasha in teachinglearning.  The  initiatives  undertaken  by  the  Indian  Institutes  of  Technology  (IITs)  include handholding  classes  in  regional  languages,  peer  mentoring,  language  learning  centres, bilingual  thesis  abstracts,  and  tools  like  Bhashini.  Tutorials,  zero-hour  sessions,  and mentoring in Indian languages alongside English proficiency programs, along with AI-based translation and multilingual resources are also provided.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched the ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian Languages through Translation and Academic Writing) initiative to strengthen the use of Indian languages in Higher Educational Institutions.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has developed Anuvadini App to translate books for Under Graduate and Post Graduate courses and Technical books like engineering and law in 12 Indian languages.  Further, for promotion of mother tongue in teaching and research, AICTE launched 'Vibrant Advocacy for Advancement and nurturing of  Indian  Languages  (VAANI)'  initiative  which  provides  financial  assistance  to  approved institutions  for  organising  seminars/  workshops/  conferences.  The  translated  books  are available for free download on e-KUMBH portal.

The  National  Eligibility  cum  Entrance  Test  (NEET)  examination  for  admission  to undergraduate  medical  courses,  the  Joint  Entrance  Examination  (JEE)  examination  for admission  to  undergraduate  engineering  programmes,  and  the  Common  University Entrance  Test  (CUET)  for  admission  to  UG  courses  in  Central  Universities  are  also conducted in 13 languages.

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