Language cannot be an area of controversy or barrier: Dharmendra Pradhan

He presents mandate document for NCF, which is termed a milestone 

Batting for mother tongue and regional language, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan stressed that language cannot be an area of controversy or a barrier.

He was speaking after releasing the mandate document of the National Curricular Framework (NCF) here on Friday.

The union minister’s statement assumes significance, given the ongoing debate on “national language”. “Those who want to do politics about language, my wishes to them,” he said.

Mr. Pradhan said that the NCF committee has recommended mother tongue and local language. “As an Education minister, I admit candidly that I formulate my thoughts in Odia, translate it into Hindi and communicate it in English... this is the criticality of the area; language should not create an artificial barrier. We should create an ecosystem for innovative, critical thinking in a child,” he said.

He also pointed out that both Japan and Germany were not dependent on English and emphasised on their own languages.

Hailing the mandate document, he said it was time to decolonise the education system and added that the documents should be the instrument of tranformational change in livelihoods and dignity of people. The current education system is certificate and degree centric and linked to social prestige, he pointed out, adding that skilling, vocational education and knowledge is not properly evaluated. “The National Education Policy has recommended the link between education and skill,” he said.

K. Kasturirangan, chairman of the National Steering Committee for NCF, said the mandate document was an important milestone in defining the school education of the future. For the first time, early childhood care education and adult education have been included in the curricular framework.