CBSE and its ‘Mother Tongue First’ move: Bridging learning gaps or widening India’s academic divide?
[ad_1] The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recently mandated all affiliated schools to implement the language instruction guidelines outlined in the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-2023), effective from the academic session 2025–26. Central to the guidelines is the “mother-tongue first” approach, a directive that has garnered both admiration and apprehension. In a nation as culturally and linguistically diverse as India, the policy embodies the potential to either foster holistic growth or exacerbate the already-existing academic disparities. Framed within the contours of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the recommendation urges schools to adopt the child’s home language or regional tongue as the primary medium of instruction until foundational literacy in a secondary language is secured, as explicitly stated in NCF-2023 (Part C, p. 239).Schools have until May 31, 2025, to form NCF Implementation Committees, map students' […]