Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Monday said people should not think English alone would help in progress as several countries in the world have achieved greater heights by imparting education in their mother tongue. Speaking after e-inauguration of the new building of Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Mr Pokhriyal, however, said he was not against English and cited the examples of Japan, Germany, France and others which impart education in their mother tongue.
He emphasized that states must focus on implementing education in students native language till the primary level as prescribed in the New Education Policy. ( NEP) He said this during the e-inaugural of the Central Institute of Hindi’s new building in Hyderabad. Built at a cost of Rs5.67 crore, the building is constructed on government-provided land in Bowenpally area.
A few days ago, some people said we want to go to the international level... that's why English is needed. We never opposed English. All languages are good for us. But, I am requesting them, don't keep in mind that English alone can help in making progress. That is not the case. Many countries have achieved a lot of progress using their mother tongue, Mr Ramesh Pokhriyal said. Mr Pokhriyal also gave the example of Israel which revived the ancient language of Hebrew, saying it was not behind others in science and technology and other areas. While other languages can be learnt, care must be taken not to get detached from our roots, Mr Pokhriyal said.
He referred to the new education policy and said students were free to choose any subject of their choice. While language would not be forced on anybody, every state would be requested to impart education in their respective state language, Mr Ramesh Pokhriyal said. "If a child speaks, writes and learns in his mother tongue, he will be able to bring out his full energy," Mr Pokhriyal said, adding every language should be respected and enriched.
Further addressing the inauguration he said it is essential that people from North India get familiarized with South Indian languages and vice-versa. Although, he pointed to Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of connecting all 22 regional languages of the country with Hindi language, which is included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
He said the Hindi language that "binds all" should also be strengthened. When former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in Hindi at the United Nations it was applauded a lot, he recalled.
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Pokhriyal said he understood the diversity and richness of various regional Languages after having conversations with writers of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and other Indian languages.