NCERT developing courses for parents, teachers to learn 22 Indian languages

NEW DELHI: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is developing courses for parents, teachers and students to learn the 22 scheduled Indian languages. The course will be available both in English and Hindi medium.

These language courses will be available from the 2024-25 academic session, either on the Diksha or Swayam portal of the education ministry.

The thrust of the National Education Policy 2020 has been promotion of Indian languages. The policy states that the Indian languages have not received their due attention and care, with the country losing over 220 languages in the last 50 years alone. UNESCO has declared 197 Indian languages as “endangered”.

“Even those languages [of India] that are not officially on such endangered lists, such as the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, are facing serious difficulties. Teaching and learning of Indian languages need to be integrated with school and higher education at every level. For languages to remain relevant and vibrant, there must be a steady stream of high-quality learning and print materials in these languages, including textbooks, workbooks, videos, plays, poems, novels, magazines, etc,” states the NEP document.

The module being finalised for parents and teachers will be designed like the middle school level, that is, Classes 6 to 8. “An individual may take three months or six months time to complete the module. It will entirely depend on the pace of the learners,” said an official.

NCERT and Bhasha Sangam

The NCERT initiative is along the lines of Bhasha Sangam, which it had launched in 2021 for the school students. Bhasha Sangam consists of short dialogues including 100 simple, commonly-used sentences. The schools could choose any language to practise and carry out the Bhasha Sangam activity. The booklets in PDF are available at diksha.gov.in and on the NCERT website with audio, video embedded with Indian sign language.

NCERT is also in the process of developing textbooks for students in the 22 Indian languages.

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CBSE language plans

Even the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked its affiliated schools to consider the use of Indian languages as medium of instruction.

There is also an increasing focus on promoting multilingualism. It has told schools that until at least Class 5, but preferably till Class 8 and beyond, the medium of instruction should be the home language, mother tongue, local language or regional language.