New Delhi : On Friday, the Ministry of Education announced that all courses in both secondary and tertiary education would have digital study materials available in Indian languages.
According to the ministry, the choice was made with the intention of giving students the chance to learn in their native tongue.
It stated that all of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution would be provided with study materials.
“The government has directed all school and higher education regulators like UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU and heads of INIs like IITs, CUs and NITs to make study material in Indian languages available for all courses in the next three years,” the ministry said.
It said that UGC, AICTE and the Department of School Education have also been asked to take up the issue with regard to state schools and universities.
According to the ministry, the instructions were issued in accordance with the National Education Policy’s recommendations for encouraging multilingualism in education at all levels. This will allow students to study in their native tongue and improve their academic performance.
“Studying in one’s own language can provide a student the natural space to think innovatively without any language barrier,” the ministry said.
“The NEP-2020 strongly conveys the idea that multilingual nature of Bharat is its huge asset and strength which needs to be utilised efficiently for the socio-cultural, economic and educational development of the nation,” the ministry said.
It said that the content creation in local languages will boost this multilingual asset and pave way for its better contribution to ‘Viksit Bharat’ to make our country as developed nation by 2047.
The ministry said that the government has already been working in this direction during the past two years, with translation of engineering, medical, law, UG, PG and skill books being done through the Anuvadini AI based App.
“These books are available on the ekumbh portal,” the ministry said.
It said that in school education ecosystem also study material is available in multiple Indian languages including over 30 languages on DIKSHA.
“Competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CUET are being held in 13 Indian languages,” the ministry said.
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