Context: 

• In 1999, UNESCO declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day and this year’s theme is “Multilingual education — a necessity to transform education,” underscores the importance of using multiple languages in framing an impactful system of education. 

India’s Linguistic Diversity:

• India is an ancient repository of hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects with rich linguistic and cultural diversity.
• Our languages, which are an integral part of our ancient culture, give us a sense of identity. 

Why need to focus on Mother Languages?

• It is in our mother tongue that we express, with authenticity, our deepest thoughts, feelings, values and ideals, as also our literary endeavors.
• In India, as many as 42 of our dialects and languages have fewer than 10,000 users. 
• Teaching and learning in one’s mother tongue helps in the overall development of children’s personalities.
• The emphasis on mother tongue as the medium of instruction will instill confidence in students belonging to poor, rural and tribal backgrounds. 

Importance of Mother Languages in Education: 

• The Nobel Prize-winning physicist C V Raman said, “We must teach science in our mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all people can participate.”

Concerns:

• Writing in Young India in 1921, Mahatma Gandhi spoke with concern, of the strain of the foreign medium which turned “our children into crammers and imitators.” 
• Educators and parents continue to accord unquestioned primacy to English which compels the child to study his or her mother tongue as a “second/third language” at school. 

Steps taken:

• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a farsighted document which advocates education in one’s mother tongue right from the primary-school level. 
• AICTE’s landmark decision to permit BTech programmes in 11 native languages. 
• The Centre’s initiative to give prominence to native languages in employment and job creation is a welcome step. 
• It is also heartening that the Staff Selection Commission has decided to conduct examinations in 13 Indian languages in addition to Hindi and English. 
• Similarly, the Supreme Court’s decision to make verdicts accessible in all Indian languages is of great significance.

Way Forward:

• We must hasten the process of content creation in mother languages, especially with respect to technical and professional courses. 
• These steps need to be scaled up at all levels, and the canvas widened, for quality education to be more accessible, equitable and inclusive.
• We must involve all key stakeholders in education — policymakers, schools, colleges and universities, teachers, regulatory institutions and non-governmental bodies.

News Source: The Indian Express