LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 22:3 March 2022
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Kashmiri as the Medium of Instruction in the Light of
National Education Policy 2020: Planning and Implementation

Sajad Ahmad Teli, Ishrat Gul and
S Shabrooz Andrabi

Abstract

The National Education Policy of India 2020 (NEP-2020) was approved by the Govt of India on 29th of July 2020. It came with many innovative ideas and proposed many changes in the existing Education Policy of India in order to transform the education system of India. The new education policy has proposed changes in almost all the domains of primary to higher education levels like the foundational stage of learning, curriculum, pedagogy, teacher education, inclusive education, professional education and language policy. The language policy proposed by the new educational policy as far as mother tongue is concerned is a visionary framework in which the mother tongue/ home language has been proposed to be the medium of instruction wherever possible up to grade 5th and preferably up to grade 8th as research is also supporting this idea that young children learn and grasp concepts more clearly in their mother tongue as compared to any other language. Kashmiri is the mother tongue of the majority of the people of Kashmir Valley and the way young people are shifting towards Urdu and English languages is a matter of concern because this language is not only the language for the Kashmiris but their cultural and linguistic identity is imbibed in this language as well. The new policy on education is an important move for the preservation of the cultural and linguistic diversity of India in general and for the protection of cultural and linguistic identity of Kashmiris in particular. In this backdrop the present paper is an attempt to visualise Kashmiri language as the medium of instruction in the schools of Kashmir Valley as proposed by NEP 2020 and the planning and constraints it may face during its implementation.

Keywords: Kashmiri Language, National Education Policy, Mother Tongue, Planning, Implementation

1. Introduction

The National Education Policy 2020 is a comprehensive framework passed by the Government of India under the Ministry of Human Resource Development on 29th July 2020 in order to transform the education system of India. The policy framework is divided into four parts: school education, higher education, vocational education, and strengthening the central advisory board of education. The policy talks right from the primary education to higher education including the vocational education and has given some visionary guidelines regarding the medium of instruction.

The policy document in its Part I under the title “School Education” talks about the foundations of learning, teachers, curriculum, pedagogy, and inclusive education, and also talks about the policy of language under the subheading “Multilingualism and the Power of Language”. Section 4.11 of Part I of this policy proposes that “wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade V, but preferably till Grade VIII and beyond, will be the home language/mothertongue/local language/regional language. Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. This will be followed by both public and private schools”. Soon after the circulation of this policy the mother tongue as the medium of instruction up to grade 5th became a debatable topic and many scholars viewed this proposal as an important step in transforming the education system of India and to preserve the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, and yet there are scholars who criticised this policy on its planning and implementational levels.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Sajad Ahmad Teli
sajadteli13@gmail.com

Ishrat Gul
arwajan121@gmail.com

S Shabrooz Andrabi
andrabihaya@gmail.com

Research Scholars
Department of Linguistics
University of Kashmir, Srinagar
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