States free to choose any 3 Indian languages under NEP: RSS body

Hindustan Times

3 hours ago

New Delhi, States are free to choose any three of the 22 Indian languages prescribed under the New Education Policy for teaching in schools, Vidya Bharati national president Ravindra Kanhere said on Friday, dismissing the Tamil Nadu government's charge of imposition of Hindi by the Centre. States free to choose any 3 Indian languages under NEP: RSS body
He also asserted that implementation of the three-language formula in schools is achievable as children can easily learn more than one language at a time.
Replying to media queries at an annual press conference here of Vidya Bharati, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh , Kanhere also favoured the removal of "misleading facts" in the history textbooks.
"We should write historical facts only. Over the years, we have seen some or other misleading facts in the books. But they have been removed. There is nothing wrong in doing so," he told reporters when asked about the National Council of Educational Research and Training dropping the references to the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in its textbooks last year.
Favouring the three-language formula prescribed under the NEP, Kanhere said the Vidya Bharati is of the clear view that elementary education should be provided in the mother tongue.
"No language has been imposed on any state under the New Education Policy," he told reporters when asked for his comment on the Tamil Nadu government's allegation that the Centre is trying to impose Hindi on the state.
They have to choose any three of the 22 languages prescribed under the NEP, he said.
"If someone in the South is learning Tamil, he can also learn Malayalam or any other language… All Indian languages have been listed and they have been asked to choose from them," Kanhere said.
Students can also learn foreign languages if schools have arrangements, he said, adding, "It could be English, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin also."
Kanhere said Vidya Bharati, which opened its first school in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district in 1952, is currently running 12,118 schools including 14 Sainik Schools in 684 districts across the country, providing quality and "value-enriched" education to children.
Vidya Bharati schools are also located in many of the remotest areas of the country, including tribal areas and border districts where there is a lack of even basic minimum facilities, he said.
Kanhere said Vidya Bharati is also running over 8,000 non-formal educational centres across the country to support the marginalised sections of the society and about 10,000 'Shishu Vatikas' across the country to provide early childhood education to children.
"More than 35.33 lakh students are currently enrolled in Vidya Bharati schools under the able guidance of more than 1.53 lakh teachers," he said, adding, "Our schools are adopting AI-enabled learning platforms, digital classrooms and are aligned with NEP 2020," he said.
At present, about 507 Vidya Bharati schools have Atal Tinkering Labs for hands-on learning of AI and other emerging technology, he added.
In a statement, the Vidya Bharati said it has ensured that AI, robots, coding and various other digital tools are introduced in its schools responsibly with an emphasis on ethical thinking and character development.
"Vidya Bharati's roadmap is guided by Panch Parivartan," it said.
The RSS' agenda for bringing 'Panch Parivartan', a five-fold transformation in the society, seeks to inculcate a sense of 'Swa' with 'Bharatiya' values, imbibe right family values, promote social harmony, exhort people to adopt environment-friendly lifestyle and perform civic duties.
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