Langauge Learning & NEP
In the National Education Policy it is suggested that children should learn in their first language at the early stages? What ar the problems and propable solutions if this plan is followed?
LEARNING
National Education Policy 2020: Language Policy
Elementary Education in Children's First Language
All the points conveyed in the video are true and it is important to let the children learn in their first language at the beginning stages of education. However, in India the situations are complex and the problems are quite different from other countries where one single language is the first language of the children.
To cite from personal experience, I was born and brought up in Chennai and learnt through Tamil Medium up to Class VIII. Later I changed to English Medium since we were planning to shift to Karnataka. After marriage, I went to Delhi and my daughter learnt Tamil at home and Hindi from the neighbours and her friends. We moved to Gujarat by the time she was to join Class 1. Now if in Gujarat she had to learn through Gujarati, it is in fact her third language and not the first. And she had not learnt enough Gujarati to be able to learn through that language because we had just shifted. Naturally, we put her in a CBSE school where she could learn through English and Hindi.
In India, people move from one State to another for job and other purposes. Children do learn more than one language from their surroundings. But the problem arises when we try to decide which language will be preferred by them. All the States and all the schools cannot have teachers, courses and other facilities to offer courses in multiple languages.