CBSE's rule on mother tongue as medium of instruction till class 5 draws mixed reactions
Educators felt learning through one's mother tongue fosters multilingualism among students but they emphasised the importance of a global language like English
The recent guidelines issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to its affiliated schools, demanding that the medium of instruction for primary classes (up till class five) should be in the mother tongue or the state language, have garnered mixed reactions from principals.
While some have welcomed the move adopted in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), others have said it could widen the language divide.
What CBSE circular says
In a circular dated May 22, the CBSE said that for classes 1 and 2, “as per NCFSE-2023 (National Curriculum Framework for School Education), the primary language of learning and the medium of instruction (MoI) must be the child’s home language, mother tongue, or a familiar regional language (referred to as R1)”.
For classes 3 to 5, the circular said that “students may continue to learn in R1, which could be the preferred medium of instruction for all subjects” but “an option may be given to study in medium other than R1 to those who are interested in studying through R2 depending on whether foundational literacy in R2 has been attained”.
For its implementation, the CBSE said all schools “must constitute a NCF Implementation Committee by the end of May 2025”, and that “implementation may commence from July 2025”.
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However, it added, “Schools requiring time to transition (for procurement of resources, teacher reallocation, or curriculum realignment) may avail of some additional time. However, care may be taken that the implementation is not inordinately delayed.”
Schools are also required to send monthly progress reports on the 5th of each month, starting in July.
Not ideal
While this is a change for most CBSE schools, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya (SPV) in Delhi has been following this language policy since its inception.
“One of the most cherished features of the Vidyalaya is that we have both Hindi and English as the medium of instruction at different stages; Hindi from Nursery to V th and English from VI th to XII th. The ultimate objective is to produce young citizens who are not only bilingual but also equi-lingual in Hindi (national link language) and English (international link language). English of course is a core subject throughout from Class I to XII,” the school says on its website.
However, across the country, principals are split on the move.
“The medium of instruction cannot be completely in the mother tongue as it would widen the language divide. Being a very diverse country, it will be difficult for the students to catch up on the syllabus when they move to other cities. It will dilute the knowledge if they join other CBSE schools in a different state. While it is important for the students to have an understanding of their mother tongue and it can be a good practice for encouraging knowledge of their mother tongue among students, implementation of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction would not be ideal for the students,” said Radhika Unni, former principal of SBOA School, Chennai.
Mother tongue or English?
Suman Sood, director of B D Memorial School in Kolkata said, “We’re working around it (the circular) and trying to see how much of it is feasible, though we are waiting for CBSE to be a little more clear. A committee has been formed, although not in a very formal sense. It depends on other factors like acceptance of parents, but if it’s a CBSE regulation we will have to follow it.”
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“Multilingualism is something that should be there. We should not follow it too rigidly. We have earlier also introduced things through the mother tongue and then go on to other languages. Because we are preparing them to be global citizens, not just for our country. Children are learning the mother tongue in their house and surroundings because they are born with that. Foreign languages are what need to be emphasised and learnt,” she said.
Some principals said that while mother tongue is important, English should also be emphasised.
“Mother tongue is different for different people. But in Delhi, we will be using Hindi only as a medium of instruction. I think we need to have an emphasis on both Hindi and English because we are living in a global world. It will not be easy for our teachers also to start teaching in Hindi; it will require entire system to be overhauled. It may not start on an emergent basis but slowly we will have to go bilingual,” said Alka Kapur, principal of Modern Public School in Delhi.
Jyoti Arora from Delhi’s Mount Abu School said, “When it comes to metro cities like Delhi, we don’t have a state language or a regional language. Here Hindi and English are the common languages, so for us, we will more or less continue in the same languages. In the formative years, when children are in the process of adapting to the school environment, I don’t mind using Hindi to teach them. We have to go by the convenience of the children. But as they grow up, it’s a requirement that they start learning English, which is a global language.”
Some educators, however, have pointed out that learning in the mother tongue is important for the convenience of parents and teachers.
“It is very essential for the students to understand and know their mother tongue and the regional language should at least be the medium of instruction until Class 5. It becomes easy for the parents to help their wards study and understand what they are learning at school. It will be easy for the students to understand the concepts if they are instructed in their mother tongue,” said Venkatachalam, former principal of a Chennai-based CBSE school.
Schools in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will reopen in the first week of June after the holidays. While a circular has been received, principals are not sure of the details. They said they will get more information once schools reopen.
