Gujarat and Punjab top the list of states in implementing the three-language policy, with over 95% of schools teaching three languages, according to data shared by Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary in Parliament.
While 97.6% of schools in Gujarat teach three languages, this figure is 96.2% in Punjab, followed by 89.2% in Sikkim, the data showed. Gujarat has made the learning of Gujarati mandatory in schools, while Punjab has made Punjabi mandatory.
The national figure is 61.6%, the data showed.
Chaudhary shared the data Monday in response to a question by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi seeking details of languages taught under the three-language formula in different states.
Tamil Nadu and the Centre have been at loggerheads over the implementation of the three-language policy (two of them being native to India) as mentioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The DMK has alleged the policy could lead to the “imposition” of Hindi.
According to the data, Kerala and Karnataka, which follow the three-language policy, have more than 70% of schools teaching three languages — 71.7% in Kerala and 76.4% in Karnataka.
Among the northern states, Uttar Pradesh has 82.8% of schools teaching three languages, while in Madhya Pradesh this figure is 55.4%. Delhi recorded a figure of 58.7%.
At the bottom of the list are Arunachal Pradesh (0.3% of schools teaching three languages), Nagaland (2.5%), and Tamil Nadu (3.2%).
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In eight other states and one Union Territory, less than 50% of schools teach three languages: Andhra Pradesh (43.5%), Assam (33.6%), Bihar (49.8%), Goa (47.6%), Jharkhand (39%), Meghalaya (18.9%), Odisha (47.9%), West Bengal (48.5%) and Puducherry (39.5%).
To another question in the Lok Sabha — on third-language options in UP, MP and Bihar – Chaudhary’s response said that UP offers Urdu/Sanskrit as third-language, while MP offers Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi or Marathi, and Bihar offers Urdu/Sanskrit.
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