- The government directs schools and higher education regulators to make study material available in Indian languages for all courses
In the next three years, all major Higher Educational institutes and schools would have to make available learning material in Indian languages, the Centre told. As per the government’s direction, schools and Higher Education regulators like University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and heads of major educational institutions like IITs, central universities and NITs would have to make study material available in Indian languages for all courses in the coming three years.
As per the Centre’s direction, school and higher education textbooks would be printed in all regional languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The decision has been in line with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s major recommendation that envisions all educational institutions to provide learning opportunities in vernacular languages. The NEP 2020 states that studying in mother tongue can provide students “natural space to think innovatively without any language barrier”. The official statement stated that books in the discipline of law, medicine, engineering, skill-related course material and other undergraduate and postgraduate books have been uploaded.