A child has to learn his mother tongue to gain a foundation, says Supreme Court
Context: A.P. govt. has approached apex court on its decision to make English medium education compulsory
What’s the issue?
- The Andhra Pradesh government has approached the Supreme Court challenging its State High Court decision to strike down a government order of November 2019 which made English medium education compulsory from classes I to VI in primary, upper primary and high schools under all managements from 2020-21.
- It was to be gradually extended to each further class from the consequent academic years.
- State government argued that English as the medium of learning has not been imposed on children. The choice of their parents would prevail.
- This order is a “progressive measure”. Vernacular medium of education has its limits.
Central Government View
- The Union Ministry of Education has already informed the Supreme Court that it is fully backing a push for “mother tongue” as medium of instruction in schools.
- The use of “home language” for learning will bridge the gap between the intelligentsia and the masses.
- Academic authorities, including CBSE, NCERT and NCTE, has to initiate the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), which promote ‘mutlingualism’ and use of “home language” as a mode of instruction.
- The Centre’s affidavit had come in response to the Supreme Court’s inclination to examine whether imposing English on a multitude of school children, whose language of instruction was their mother tongue, would amount to depriving them of an effective education guaranteed to them under Article 21A (fundamental right to education) of the Constitution.
- The National Education Policy 2020 urges for high-quality textbooks in mother tongue and for teachers to adopt a bilingual approach.
- The National Curriculum Framework of 2005 and Section 29 of the Right to Education Act of 2009 required the medium of instruction hall, as far as practicable, to be in child’s mother tongue.
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