The Union Education Ministry has directed all school and higher education regulators such as the University Grants Commission, the NCERT, and the Indira Gandhi National Open University and the heads of IITs, Central Universities, and the National Institutes of Technologies to make study material in regional languages available for all courses in the next three years. The Centre has asked the UGC, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the Department of School Education to take up the issue expeditiously.
The Ministry said in a release that the decision is aimed at providing students with the opportunity to study in their own language. Study material for all courses under school and higher education will be made available digitally in Indian languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, it said.
The Ministry said the direction is in tune with the National Education Policy for promoting multilingualism in education at every level. “Studying in ones own language can provide a student the natural space to think innovatively without any language barrier,” the Ministry said.
The UGC had recently invited expressions of interest from academics and writers to write textbooks in regional languages. “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 e-Kumbh portal,” the Ministry said. Competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CUET are being held in 13 Indian languages.
