HT Digital,
New Delhi, March 9: The Union Education Ministry unveiled 52 textbooks in Indian non-scheduled languages, including Tribal languages, on Saturday. This forms part of an initiative to promote early childhood care and education (ECCE) and to provide access to education in native languages for young learners.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan led the launch, introducing the primers developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in collaboration with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in Mysuru. Non-Scheduled Languages are those spoken in India that lack official recognition.
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Pradhan claimed the 52 primers in Indian languages mark the start of a new civilisational renaissance and will transform school education. The initiative aligns with the government’s efforts to promote the use of Indian languages in education, in line with the NEP 2020 objectives. The ministry stated the primers will inspire young minds, facilitate deeper understanding, lifelong learning, and greater success in academics.
School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar laid emphasis on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s recommendation to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in secondary education to 100% by the year 2030.
The department is dedicated to achieving this target. New textbooks for Classes 3 to 12 are being developed and will be released soon, with 52 Primers already created based on suggestions from Shri Pradhan. The Minister also introduced several initiatives such as the establishment of District Institute of Education & Training (DIET) of Excellence, the implementation of National Professional Standard for Teachers, the launch of National Mission for Mentoring, the introduction of National Vidya Samiksha Kendra, and the allocation of 200 TV Channels.
These initiatives are aimed at empowering both teachers and students by fostering an inclusive, innovative, and equitable approach to education. The ministry announced that financial assistance for physical upgrades of all District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) will be provided to States and Union Territories.
The aim is to develop them as DIETs of Excellence in the country in a phased manner over the next five years, with up to Rs. 15 Crore per DIET under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
