Bhasha Matters: Advancing Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in India

After Reading This Article You Can Solve This UPSC Mains Model Questions: 

Discuss how linguistic diversity in India can act both as a challenge and as a driver of social cohesion. Illustrate your answer with reference to multilingual education reforms. 250 Words (GS-1, Society) 

Context

• On the occasion of International Mother Language Day (February 21), under the theme “Youth Voices on Multilingual Education,” the release of the seventh edition of the UNESCO State of the Education Report (SOER) for India 2025, titled “Bhasha Matters: Mother Tongue and Multilingual Education,” has brought national attention to the critical role of linguistic identity in the learning process.

Background: The Indian Linguistic Tapestry

India’s extraordinary linguistic diversity, encompassing more than 1,300 mother tongues and 121 constitutionally recognised languages as per the 2011 Census, represents a profound national asset.

• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Article 29(1) protects the right of any section of citizens to conserve its distinct language, script, or culture.
  • Article 30 grants minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
  • Article 350A mandates that States provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education.
  • Article 350B provides for a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to safeguard their interests.
  • The Eighth Schedule recognises 22 official languages, while Part XVII of the Constitution addresses official languages.
• Policy Framework: These provisions, combined with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Frameworks (NCF) of 2022 and 2023, place the child’s home or mother tongue at the centre of early education.

Quality Education on Mother Tongue

1. Concept and Pedagogical Rationale
   1. Mother ‑Tongue ‑Based Multilingual Education (MTB‑MLE) uses the child’s first language (mother tongue/home language) as the primary medium of instruction in early grades, with additional languages (regional, national, global) introduced gradually and systematically.
   1. UNESCO and NEP 2020 converge on the principle that foundational learning is most effective when children are taught in a language they fully understand, which enhances conceptual clarity, reading comprehension, and classroom participation.
2. Cognitive and Developmental Advantages
   1. Stronger Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: When instruction begins in the mother tongue, children can focus on academic content without the added cognitive load of decoding an unfamiliar language.
   1. Improved Retention and Reduced Dropouts: Evidence from tribal and rural schools shows that MTB‑MLE improves attendance, confidence, and completion rates, especially among first‑generation learners and girls.
   1. Lifelong Learning and Higher ‑Order Skills: A secure base in the mother tongue facilitates smoother transition to additional languages and complex subjects in later grades.
3. Policy anchoring in NEP 2020 and NCFs
   1. The National Education Policy 2020 recommends that the medium of instruction in school should be the child’s home language/local language till at least Grade 5 and preferably till Grade 8, in line with global MTB‑MLE principles.
   1. The National Curriculum Frameworks (NCF) 2022 and 2023 further operationalise this by embedding multilingual pedagogy, inclusive materials, and teacher‑education reforms into the curriculum design.

A Barrier of Language: The Learning Language Mismatch

• Language Barrier: According to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), nearly 44% of children in India enter school speaking a language different from the medium of instruction, creating an immediate language barrier.
  • For these children, learning becomes a dual task: they simultaneously decode the language of instruction and grasp academic content, which often leads to weak foundational skills.
• Cumulative Learning Gaps: Weak early grade literacy and numeracy tend to compound over time, widening the gap between children from dominant language and minoritised language backgrounds.
• Reduced Confidence and Higher Dropout Risk: Children who struggle to understand classroom instruction are more likely to feel alienated, disengage, and eventually drop out, particularly in tribal, rural, and socio‑economically marginalised communities.
• Reinforcement of Social Hierarchies: When only dominant languages are privileged in schools, it marginalises linguistic minorities and reinforces existing social and educational inequalities.

Significance of ‘Bhasha’ Matters

1. Educational Equity and Inclusion: MTB‑MLE is positioned as a key strategy for inclusive education, ensuring that tribal, Dalit, Adivasi, and other minoritised groups are not left behind due to language mismatch.
   1. By recognising the child’s home language as a legitimate medium of learning, schools become spaces of identity affirmation rather than cultural erasure.
2. Preservation of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity: When a language disappears, a distinct worldview, oral traditions, and indigenous knowledge systems are lost, which UNESCO frames as a loss of humanity’s accumulated knowledge.
   1. MTB‑MLE helps document, revitalise, and transmit endangered and minoritised languages, thereby preserving India’s intangible cultural heritage.
3. Social Cohesion and National Identity: A multilingual education system that values all languages, not just Hindi or English, fosters unity in diversity and strengthens social cohesion.
   1. It also aligns with India’s constitutional commitment to linguistic pluralism, as reflected in the Eighth Schedule and various language‑related provisions.

Evidence from the Ground: Promising Practices

• Odisha’s Multilingual Education Programme: Odisha runs a long‑standing MTB‑MLE programme covering 21 tribal languages across 17 districts, supporting around 90,000 tribal children with bilingual teaching materials and trained teachers.
  • Evaluations indicate improved reading comprehension, classroom engagement, and retention among tribal students.
• Telangana and Digital Multilingual Resources: In Telangana, the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA)‑enabled multilingual resources allow teachers and students to access learning materials in local languages, including tribal and minority languages.
  • This demonstrates how digital public infrastructure can scale multilingual education even in resource‑constrained settings.
• National Digital and Language‑Technology Initiatives: PM eVIDYA and Adi Vaani (a national consortium‑developed platform) provide multilingual audio‑visual and digital content for foundational learning.
  • BHASHINI (BHash‑based ANd Intelligent Node for InclusioN in India) and AI4Bharat’s community‑developed language technologies support speech‑to‑speech translation, text‑to‑speech, and machine‑translation tools for Indian languages, helping document endangered languages and generate local‑language content.

Issues and Challenges in Implementation of Multilingual Model

Transitioning to a multilingual model faces significant structural and social hurdles.

• Structural Barriers:
  • Policy Gaps: Many states lack context-specific MTB-MLE frameworks, leading to fragmented implementation.
  • Teacher Shortage: There is a critical dearth of educators proficient in tribal languages and trained in multilingual pedagogy.
  • Material Quality: Textbooks and assessments in minoritised languages are often missing or of poor pedagogical quality.
• Socio-Cultural Factors:
  • Parental Preference: Many parents view English-medium education as the only route to social mobility, creating resistance to mother-tongue instruction.
  • Linguistic Hierarchies: The dominance of Hindi or English continues to marginalize regional and tribal dialects.
• Resource Constraints:
  • Financing: Initiatives often rely on short-term projects rather than sustained, mission-mode funding.
  • Digital Divide: Unequal access to connectivity limits the reach of digital multilingual resources in remote areas.

Way Forward: Policy and Implementation Pathways

To realize the vision of the UNESCO report and NEP 2020, a multi-pronged strategy is required.

• Institutional Reforms
  • National Mission for MTB-MLE: Establish a coordinated mission to harmonize Centre-State efforts and scale successful pilots into systemic reform.
  • Localized Policies: States must develop policies that reflect their specific linguistic realities rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Teacher Education
  • Prioritize Recruitment: Hire teachers fluent in local dialects and embed MTB-MLE principles in B.Ed. and D.El.Ed. programs.
  • Capacity Building: Continuous professional development for teachers to use multilingual digital tools and inclusive assessment methods.
• Curriculum and Community
  • Multilingual Materials: Develop high-quality textbooks and digital content across all grades, including minoritised languages.
  • Indigenous Knowledge: Integrate local ecological knowledge and oral histories into the school curriculum to make learning culturally rooted.
  • Institutionalize Participation: Involve parents and community elders in curriculum design and material development.
• Technological and Financial Commitment
  • Expand Digital Tools: Platforms like DIKSHA, PM eVIDYA, BHASHINI, and AI4Bharat should be expanded to provide multilingual content, teacher mentoring, and language‑technology tools.
  • Sustainable Financing: Allocate dedicated, long-term funds for material development and teacher training.
  • Robust Monitoring: Track language-wise learning outcomes and dropout rates to ensure accountability and course correction.

Conclusion

India’s multilingual moment offers a historic opportunity to transform the educational landscape by centering Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in policy and practice. Far from being a liability, linguistic diversity serves as a powerful engine for equity, inclusion, and innovation when children learn in languages they understand and value. This shift is not merely a pedagogical preference but a fundamental prerequisite for achieving SDG 4, ensuring quality education is truly inclusive and culturally rooted.