Language Policy under NEP: 2020 – A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Education is the backbone of a country. Education also plays vital role to upload national unity. Thus education policy always plays a congruent role in the spread of education in a country. Education policy acts as a basic requirement of a country. Any education policy sets on the analysis of the past. It deals with the need of the present days and also focuses on the possibilities of the future. Like the other countries, India also felt the need of a well- planned education policy to ensure all-round development of our society at large. The new education policy of India enlightens preservation as well as development of all Indian languages but the problem lays in the fact that India being a multilingual and multicultural country will select which particular language as a medium of instruction in the education system. NEP 2020 for the first time harps on introducing mother tongue as a medium of instruction at the primary level. All the relevant aspects of language issues are carefully integrated from paragraphs 4.11 to 4.22 very carefully under the heading ‘Multilingualism’ in NEP 2020. The inclusion of many vernacular languages in educational curriculum will definitely protect endangered languages in India. It will also help the students to be connected with the culture of the nation. Indirectly, this will help our students to increase qualitative creative skills. NEP 2020 has proposed to implement ‘Three-Language-Formula’ to promote multilingualism from the school level. The objective of NEP 2020 is to make the students proficient in different languages and also know the mother tongue to be respectful and knowledgeable about the ancient literature. The objective of this study is to identify the necessity of new education policy (NEP 2020) and its impact on education system of our country for holistic development of the students from primary to higher education. Key Words: Education system, Multilingualism, Multicultural, Holistic Development, Three-Language Formula.