The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday asked CBSE affiliated schools to consider teaching Indian languages mentioned in Schedule 8 of the Constitution as a medium of instruction from foundational stage till end of secondary stage i.e., from pre-primary classes to Class 12 as an optional medium in addition to the other existing options.

And to do that, CBSE has asked schools to explore the available resources, consult with experts in the field, and collaborate with other schools to share best practices.

The announcement is in line with the government's implementation for the National Education Policy (NEP).

Taking to Twitter the UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said that the move will make the students creative and innovative.

"With UGC promoting Indian languages in higher education, CBSE's decision to use Indian languages as an alternative medium of instruction from primary classes to class 12 could not have come at a more opt (apt) time. The school and higher education systems working together to promote Indian languages in education will provide a steady stream of students to Higher Educational Institutions who can think and work in Indian languages, making them creative and innovative," Jagadesh Kumar said.

At present, in most of the CBSE schools the medium of instruction is either English and in Hindi.

In its notification, the board said multilingual education has been widely recognized as a valuable approach to fostering linguistic diversity, cultural understanding, and academic success among students.

The National Education Policy 2020 emphasizes the advantages of  multiple languages especially mother tongue from foundational stage as a medium of instruction.

But with the implementation of multilingual education as well as mother tongue as a medium of instruction comes several challenges like the availability of skilled teachers, capable of teaching in multilingual settings, the creation of high quality multilingual textbooks, and the limited time available.

In view of the above challenges, the Ministry of Education has directed the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) to prepare the new textbooks in 22 scheduled Indian languages.

These new textbooks will be made available from the next academic session i.e., from 2024-2025.

Talking about the move, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan lauds CBSE stating, it is a step towards encouraging education in mother tongue and Indian languages in schools.