Dharmendra Pradhan launches Bharatiya Bhasha summer camp, unveils NCERT primers in 13 Indian languages

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Bharatiya Bhasha summer camp in New Delhi. The nationwide initiative is aimed at promoting multilingualism among school students. The minister released primers in 13 Indian languages and special modules developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

With the addition of 13 new primers, the total number of primers now available in 117 Indian languages. The special modules cover all classes from 1 to 12 and are accessible online. The materials aim to support foundational literacy and numeracy and promote an understanding of language in relation to India’s heritage.

“Today, including this group of 13 primers, there are a total of 117 bilingual or trilingual primers in the country. By creating five more primers, we will be able to achieve our target of 122 and implement language-based education properly under the National Education Policy,” said Dharmendra Pradhan.

Nationwide language learning camps

According to the education ministry, the week-long Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camps will be held across all states and union territories. The initiative will introduce students to languages from different linguistic families and encourage learning that connects students with the country’s multilingual background.

In his address, Pradhan spoke about the importance of mother tongue-based education up to Class 8. He also underlined NCERT’s role in advancing Indian knowledge systems and said textbooks should be age-appropriate and developed using artificial intelligence tools in Indian languages.

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Focus on choice-based language learning

The event was attended by department of school education and literacy (DoSEL) secretary Sanjay Kumar. Others present included NCERT director, Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti chairman Chamu Krishna Shastry, joint secretary in DoSEL Prachi Pandey and other officials.

“Today I inaugurated the Indian Language Summer Camp in Delhi, released primer books and special modules developed by NCERT in 13 Indian languages. I thank Shri Chamu Krishna Shastri, Chairman of Indian Language Committee and all the colleagues of NCERT for this initiative which gives children an opportunity to learn the Indian language of their choice and for building a bridge between Indian languages through primer books,” Pradhan said.