Make mother tongue medium of instruction in schools: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu
Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) at Mysuru
Bengaluru, July 13: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Saturday suggested making the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in schools, at least at the primary level.
"Our languages must unite us in the cause for inclusive and sustainable development and must not end up as tools to divide us," he said.
Naidu said there should be no imposition of any language, nor should there be any opposition to any language.
The Vice President said language preservation and development needs a multi-pronged approach and added that it was time to rethink and reinvent the entire language education in the country.
Addressing the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) at Mysuru, he said, "We must start by making the mother tongue the medium of instruction in our schools, at least at the primary level."
Pointing out that a number of global studies by expert groups had established that teaching the mother tongue at the initial stages of education gives an impetus to the growth of the mind and thought and makes children more creative and logical, Naidu said they must be taught multiple languages to widen their horizons.
The Vice President also expressed happiness over the new draft National Education Policy, noting that it has given a number of suggestions to support education in home languages and mother tongues, tribal as well as sign languages.
The policy rightly states that children have the potential to acquire multilingual skills and these need to be encouraged at the earliest, he said in his speech, a copy of which was released to the media here.
Hoping that more people would start using their native languages at home, in the community, in meetings and in administration, Naidu said a sense of dignity and pride must be accorded to those who speak, write and communicate in these languages.
"Language should become a catalyst for inclusive development," he said, adding that language promotion should be an integral part of good governance.
Stressing that many more bold decisions must be made to protect and nurture our languages, Naidu said, "Our languages must unite us in the cause for inclusive and sustainable development and must not end up as tools to divide us.
There should be no imposition of any language, nor should there be any opposition to any language, he said.
"Every language is important and worth our efforts in preserving and propagating it. Let us strive to communicate with each other and understand each other better," he added.
Noting that more than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongues, according to the Language Census, Naidu said there are 121 languages spoken by 10,000 or more people in India.
"It is extremely disheartening to learn that 196 languages of our country are classified as endangered. We may have to ensure that this number doesn’t increase," he said, adding that the only way to protect and preserve the languages was to constantly use them.
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KSRTC to run 1000 special services to clear Christmas rush
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will operate 1000 additional special services in view of the Christmas festival.
In addition to the existing schedule, the special services will run on 19.12.2025, 20.12.2025 and 24.12.2025. Further, special buses will be operated from various places of intra & Interstate places to Bengaluru on 26.12.2025 & 28.12.2025.
Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubbali, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and other places.
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Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri.
The corporation has also announced a discount of 5 per cent on the fare if four or more passengers book tickets under a single reservation. A discount of 10 per cent will be extended on return journey tickets if onward and return tickets are booked simultaneously.
In addition to the above, special buses will be operated from all Taluk/District Bus Stands in the jurisdiction of KSRTC based on the traffic needs.
