NEW DELHI - As India overhauls its education policy after more than three decades, heated debates have erupted over the language in which students will be taught in their early years of schooling.
"If a child is thinking in a language ... they are more creative . If they have fluency, they develop better and will be able to learn science or other subjects in that language. What this policy has done is to say that states should be open to allowing government schools to teach in multiple languages. There is no compulsion to study a certain language," said Ms Wadia, senior fellow at Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai.
In India, English-medium education is seen to be aspirational, popularly sought after by most parents, including the poorest. Among those who support Indian languages include the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist outfit which is the ideological backbone of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
"If children are exposed to English at a later stage, there will be discontinuity. We can't go by the feeling of patriotism in education."The Indian Constitution recognises 22 major languages, including Hindi - a popular medium of instruction in northern and central India. "Tamil Nadu will never allow the three-language policy. The state will continue with its dual language policy ," said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.