Mother Tongue in Higher Education: Unlocking India’s Untapped Potential

Education in India faces many challenges. The gulf between the educational opportunities of the rich and the poor, weaknesses in primary schooling, inadequate facilities for advanced research, and concerns over the quality of higher and technical education are all part of a much larger debate. Dr Shailesh Shukla focuses here on a more fundamental question: Does the language in which we teach also determine how effectively we learn? He argues that making the mother tongue an important medium of higher education could remove a significant barrier for millions of students. The other challenges deserve their own discussions. For now, let us examine the case he makes for learning through the mother tongue.

Mother Tongue in Higher Education: Unlocking India’s Untapped Potential
Dr Shailesh Shukla

Language is not merely a medium of communication; it is the axis of thought. If knowledge is imparted in the language in which a person dreams, reasons and questions, the capacity to absorb and understand it increases considerably. In a multilingual country like India, what should be the medium of higher education is not only an academic question, but one connected to social justice and national development.

For a long time, the assumption prevailed that without English, higher education, especially technical and scientific education, is not possible. Now both time and technology have challenged this assumption.

The National Education Policy 2020 strongly encourages multilingualism and the greater use of Indian languages in education, including higher education. This is not merely an emotional appeal, but has a sound educational basis. Learning in a familiar language can lead to deeper conceptual understanding. When a student has to first translate a complex theory in his mind and then understand it, considerable cognitive energy is spent in understanding the language itself. If the same theory is available in the student’s mother tongue, more attention can be devoted to analysing the knowledge.

The ground reality of India strengthens this argument further. According to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education, the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education is about 30 percent. Economic and social factors are among the major reasons for limited participation, but language can also work as an invisible barrier.

Many students enter college after studying largely in their mother tongue or an Indian language. When the medium of instruction suddenly becomes English at the undergraduate level, a section of them feels isolated. Hesitation in asking questions, difficulty in writing answers and lack of confidence can be consequences of this language shift.

It is often argued that books on technical and advanced subjects are not sufficiently available in Indian languages. This argument carried greater weight earlier, but technology is rapidly changing the situation. The All India Council for Technical Education has initiated the preparation of engineering material in 12 Indian languages, with material also being made available through platforms such as e-KUMBH. The University Grants Commission has encouraged higher-education institutions to develop and translate academic material into Indian languages.

Artificial intelligence can play a significant role in this process. AI-assisted tools can speed up translation considerably and help maintain consistency in technical terminology. However, technology cannot replace academic judgement. Such translations still require careful vetting by subject specialists and language experts.

In such a situation, the shortage of books in Indian languages need no longer be treated as an insurmountable obstacle. The time and resources required to create high-quality academic material would be an investment whose benefits could extend to generations of students.

Here it is necessary to clarify that education in the mother tongue does not mean a boycott of English. Knowledge of English today is important for global research, employment and international dialogue. Therefore, English should be taught strongly so that students become proficient in it. But it is not appropriate to put a lock on the door of knowledge by making English the only gateway to it.

This is the fundamental difference between medium and subject that needs to be understood. The medium should make the path to knowledge easier, while a language taught as a subject provides an important skill. Students should ideally be able to acquire knowledge in the language in which they learn most effectively while also developing proficiency in English.

There is also a deep democratic and economic aspect to education in the mother tongue. A large part of India's economy is still connected to agriculture, small industries and local markets. If a young person who has received higher education acquires technical knowledge in a familiar language, that knowledge can be applied and communicated more easily within the community and local economy.

If a student of agricultural science learns soil science or water management in the mother tongue, for example, that knowledge can be communicated more effectively to farmers. The same principle applies to medicine, law, management and other professional fields. The wider the linguistic reach of professional knowledge, the greater its potential social impact.

Countries such as Japan, Germany, France and China demonstrate that scientific and technological advancement need not depend exclusively on English. These countries have developed substantial bodies of academic and professional knowledge in their own languages while also participating in international research.

India's situation is, of course, different because of its extraordinary linguistic diversity. It must develop its own model of multilingual higher education. We have rich literary, intellectual and cultural traditions across our languages. The need is to connect those traditions with the modern curriculum.

The pace of development is directly related to the quality of human resources. If language prevents capable students from participating fully in higher education, a part of national talent remains underdeveloped. Education in the mother tongue can help correct this imbalance. It can encourage students to ask fundamental questions, bring new perspectives into research and connect innovation more closely with local problems. When students are free to think in a language in which they are confident, they are better placed to understand, question and create rather than merely memorise.

Higher education in the mother tongue, therefore, is not a return to backwardness, but a practical step towards the future. It can help bring students from poor, disadvantaged and rural backgrounds onto a more equal platform.

Let English remain a window through which we can see the world, but let the doors to knowledge also open in our own languages. Only then can higher education move beyond being an opportunity for a limited section of society and become an engine of development for the whole country.

Dr. Shailesh Shukla has been actively engaged for two-and-a-half decades in research on Digital Media, AI, Academics, Official Language, Administration and Language Governance & Policy Implementation. After a decade of journalism and teaching in Delhi, serving as the first Rajbhasha Officer of Sikkim University and as Official Language Officer in a Central PSU, he is presently Global Group Editor at Srijan Sansar International Group of Journals and Consulting Editor at The GaurSons Times. He is Principal Consultant at New Media Srijan Sansar Global Foundation and Adamya Global Foundation. He taught at Delhi University and Sikkim Central University. With Ph.D. on 'Hindi Literature in New Media', he has written 40+ chapters including for DU and IGNOU courses, authored/edited 25+ books, and 1000+ writings including 40+ Research Papers, Articles, Poems, Stories, Satires in 200+ media outlets of India and abroad. Recipient of Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar 2019-20 by MHA, Govt. of India, Navodit Lekhak Puraskar 2003-04 by Hindi Academy, Govt. of NCT Delhi, ERAI Fellowship by Knowledge Network, Virginia, USA, and many other honours.