What does NEP, 2020 state about languages? | Explained-OxBig News Network

A protest by DMK-led coalition against the the three-language policy in Chennai, on February 18. 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The story so far: Tamil Nadu’s resistance to adopting the three-language policy as mandated under the National Education Policy (NEP, 2020) has brought the age-old language debate back under the limelight.

What does NEP 2020 state about language instruction?

Formed after five years of consultations, NEP, 2020 which replaces the previous education policy of 1986 has stated that wherever possible, the medium of instruction, for students in both public and private schools, until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be in the home language or the mother tongue or the local language or the regional language. Thereafter, the home or local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. Experts who penned the NEP, 2020, led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan, suggested that young children learn and grasp non-trivial concepts more quickly in their home language or mother tongue. The NEP 2020 document states, “Research clearly shows that children pick up languages extremely quickly between the ages of two and eight and that multilingualism has great cognitive benefits to young students, children will be exposed to different languages early on (but with a particular emphasis on the mother tongue), starting from the Foundational Stage onwards.” To that end adopting bilingualism (mother tongue along with English) is encouraged in the NEP.

In Haryana for instance, pre-school educators in anganwadis use study material like colourful textbooks to teach alphabets and numbers in Hindi and English, with both Hindi and English fonts printed on the same page accompanied with vivid imagery.

What did the AISES find regarding languages taught in schools?

The eighth All India School Education Survey (AISES), carried out by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), remains the latest country-wide survey on the medium of instruction and languages taught. It points out that even though a majority number of schools have their mother tongue as the medium of instruction, this number has been coming down over the years (between 2002 to 2009). The eighth survey points out that 86.62% schools teach via the mother tongue at the primary stage as compared to 92.07% schools in the seventh survey. Pointing at the urban-rural divide, the eighth AISES points that 87.56% schools in rural and 80.99% schools in urban areas have their mother tongue as the medium of instruction as compared to 92.39% schools in rural and 90.39% schools in urban areas in the seventh survey.

What is the three-language formula?

The current three-language formula proposed by NEP 2020 has considerably departed from the previously enunciated policy in 1968 which emphasised study of Hindi, English and a modern Indian language (preferably one of the southern languages) in Hindi-speaking States and Hindi, English and a regional language in non-Hindi speaking States. In contrast, the NEP 2020 states that it provides greater flexibility in the three-language formula, and that no language will be imposed on any State. But it does encourage some languages. The policy document dedicates an entire section to lauding Sanskrit and pushes for its inclusion as an option in the three-language formula. The policy document also goes on to say that classical languages, including classical Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia and additionally Pali, Persian, and Prakrit should be available as options.

Additionally, NEP 2020 mentions that in order to promote learning in mother tongue, high-quality textbooks, including in science, will be made available in home languages/mother tongue. To improve access to such educational materials, the NCERT released a set of digital books in 104 regional languages and dialects in 2024, which include Bengali, Khandeshi, Tulu, Ladakhi, Pashto, Bhili, Dogri, Lahuli (Pattani), Car Nicobarese among others. NCERT officials have said that it is the responsibility of the respective State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) to facilitate translations in their respective languages. Last year, Assam following the NEP call, launched bilingual textbooks for Science and Maths in English, Assamese, Bodo as well as Bengali. Andhra Pradesh too introduced bilingual textbooks consisting of Telugu and English in 2023.

However, the implementation of the three-language formula has been poor. For instance, while Tamil was made the second language in 1969 by Haryana’s former Chief Minister Bansi Lal, the language was removed from its status in 2010 due to lack of Tamil speakers. Similarly, State education officials in Himachal Pradesh have been unable to offer Telugu and Tamil as language options due to inability to find teachers for these languages.

What about foreign languages?

NEP 2020 states that foreign languages, such as Korean, Japanese, Thai, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, will also be offered at the secondary level. According to a plan formulated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), students are to learn two Indian languages till Class 10, and in Class 11 and 12 they have an option to choose to learn one Indian language and one foreign language.