On Saturday, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu suggested that students in schools, at least at the primary level, must be imparted instructions in the mother tongue.
"Our languages must unite us in the cause for inclusive and sustainable development and must not end up as tools to divide us," he said.
Naidu said that there should neither be imposition nor opposition to any language and said that preserving a language is a multi-pronged approach and it is high time to rethink and reinvent the entire language education in the country.
Addressing the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) at Mysuru, he said, "We must start by making the mother tongue the medium of instruction in our schools, at least at the primary level."
The Vice President also expressed happiness that the New Education Policy draft has given a number of suggestions which support education in home languages, mother tongues, tribal as well as sign languages.
Hoping that more people will start using their vernacular tongue in the schools, homes, communities and offices Naidu said that a sense of dignity and pride must be accorded to those who use these languages.
"Language should become a catalyst for inclusive development," he said, adding that language promotion should be an integral part of good governance.
Tags: Vice-President
M Venkaiah Naidu
Education In Indian Schools
Education In Mother Tongue
Central Institute Of Indian Languages
New Education Policy Draft
