Ramesh Pokhriyal says many countries achieved great heights by imparting education in mother tongue

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Monday said people should not think English alone would help in progress as several countries in the world have achieved greater heights by imparting education in their mother tongue.

Speaking after e-inauguration of the new building of Kendriya Hindi Sansthan here, he, however, said he was not against English and cited the examples of Japan, Germany, France and others which impart education in their mother tongue.

A few days ago, some people said we want to go to the international level… thats why English is needed. We never opposed English. All languages are good for us. But, I am requesting them, dont keep in mind that English alone can help in making progress. That is not the case. Many countries have achieved a lot of progress using their mother tongue, he said.

Pokhriyal also gave the example of Israel which revived the ancient language of Hebrew,



saying it was not behind others in science and technology and other areas. While other languages can be learnt, care must be taken not to get detached from our roots, he said. He referred to the new education policy and said students were free to choose any subject of their choice.

While language would not be forced on anybody, every state would be requested to impart education in their respective state language, he said. “If a child speaks, writes and learns in his mother tongue, he will be able to bring out his full energy,” he said, adding every language should be respected and enriched. He said Hindi language that “binds all” should also be strengthened, he said.

When former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in Hindi at the United Nations it was applauded a lot, he recalled. The Minister said conversations with writers of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and other Indian languages made him understand how enriched these languages were.