'Language should be enabling factor, not hindrance for educating students': President Droupadi Murmu

NEW DELHI: President of India, Droupadi Murmu launches various projects of the union ministry of education today, November 11, 2022 in Bhubaneshwar. The president spoke about the importance of vernacular languages in education.

The education projects that were launched included engineering books of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in Odia language, a glossary of technical terms in Odia language, developed by Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT) and the e-KUMBH (Knowledge Unleashed in Multiple Bharatiya Languages) portal.

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The president expressed how such important initiatives from the union ministry of education are a step towards making education accessible to all regardless of the language they speak. The government has taken measures to provide technical education in regional languages in line with the National Education Policy (NEP-2020). These steps were taken after an observation of how numerous students still face difficulty in understanding technical education in English.

She noted how learning in one's mother tongue helps in developing creative thinking and analytical skills while providing equal opportunities to urban and rural students. Droupadi Murmu praised the rich vocabulary and the distinct literary tradition of Odia as a language and how there would be no difficulty in receiving technical education in India. She further added that all Indian languages have the same potential and how NEP 2020 gives an equal importance to culture in education. "The National Education Policy-2020 has ushered in a new era in the field of Indian languages." said the president.

She also appreciated AICTE to launch books in regional languages to remove such hurdles for students of India. "Education is a tool for empowerment. We must ensure that each and every child in our country has access to education at every level. We have to do our best to make the education available to all without any discrimination. Language should be an enabling factor not a hindrance for educating the students. The introduction of learning in regional and local languages would go a long way towards building a well-educated, aware and vibrant society." said Droupadi Murmu, the president of India.

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The president paid a visit to he alma mater, Government Girls High School Unit-II and Kuntala Kumari Sabat Adivasi Girls Hostel Unit-II where she completed her schooling and interacted with students, teachers, alumni and inmates of the hostel.