NEW DELHI, 19 Mar: The three languages to be learned by school-going children under the National Education Policy (NEP) will be chosen by states, regions and students and no language will be imposed on any state, Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed Parliament on Wednesday.
The three-language formula recommended by the NEP has been at the centre of controversy with Tamil Nadu refusing to implement it alleging imposition of Hindi by the Centre.
The Centre has, however, refuted Tamil Nadu’s charge.
In response to a written question in Rajya Sabha, Majumdar said the three languages to be 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.
“There will be a greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and no language will be imposed on any state,” he said.
“The NEP 2020 provides that 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,” Majumdar added.
The minister noted that the policy also provides for making available high-quality textbooks in the home language or mother tongue and encouraging teachers to use a bilingual approach while teaching.
“In order to achieve this objective, the government is integrating multilingualism at school and higher education levels by providing reading materials in Indian languages so that students have the choice to study in their mother tongue or local language,” he said.
