IITs, NITs to deliver courses in regional languages from 2021

A decision was made to start technical education, especially engineering courses imparting education in mother tongue will be opened from next academic year. A few IIT and NIT are being shortlisted for the same,

By: Education Desk

New Delhi | Updated: November 30, 2020 05:18 PM IST

2 min read

IIT Delhi campus. File photo

From the next academic session, the top engineering institutes including IITs and NITs will offer engineering courses in their respective regional language as well. Till now, the mode of delivering lectures is officially English in almost all top-ranking Indian engineering institutes.

The decision to teach in regional language was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday. This is in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which promotes regional language as a mode of delivering education.

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“A seminal decision was made to start technical education, especially engineering courses imparting education in mother tongue will be opened from next academic year. A few IIT and NIT are being shortlisted for the same,” an official statement by the ministry stated.

Minister said that all the officials of the Ministry are working to ensure proper implementation of National Education Policy, with an aim to achieve holistic development of students and transformation of the education system in the country.

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Recently, there have been demands of holding the entrance exams including JEE, NEET, CAT etc in regional languages as well. In NEET which is offered in English, Hindi, Assamese, and several other Indian languages, most of the applications — over 79 per cent — come for English, and English and Hindi combined make for 91.88 per cent of candidates. In 2019, English only made of 79.31 per cent while in 2020 it was 79.08 per cent, as per NTA.

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In an e-Adda hosted by The Indian Express, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal had said, “We are not against English but we are saying that the 22 languages in the Eighth schedule of our Constitution should be strengthened, else they will perish….We are not against any language, learn English too, but we should do justice to the child and his talent.”

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