Multilingual classrooms: Can NEP 2020 bridge the policy-practice gap?

At 8:15 a.m. at a South Delhi school, students shuffle into their classroom, chatting in a lively mix of Hindi, Punjabi, English, and even Bhojpuri. The teacher begins the lesson in Hindi, but, halfway through, a child asks a question in Bengali while another answers in English. A few quietly exchange words in Urdu. Within 10 minutes, the classroom has been through five languages. This small but powerful moment captures the promise of multilingual education and the challenge of making it real across India’s vast schooling system.

Urban classrooms are melting pots where children carry the languages of their homes, streets, and playgrounds into school. For decades, this multilingual reality has been treated as a problem, something to be managed, streamlined, or even silenced. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 suggests otherwise; it asks us to treat multilingualism as a resource, not a hurdle. But can policy truly meet practice in classrooms like this?

Learning in the mother tongue

A child’s first language is not just words; it is dreams, thoughts, imagination, and identity. When early education begins in that language, comprehension deepens, confidence grows, and dropout rates fall. Yet, for millions of Indian children, the classroom language has remained alien, creating a silent barrier to learning.

NEP 2020’s bold call for mother-tongue instruction till at least Class 5 reflects global research, which shows children learn best when they start in familiar languages. For India, this is also a question of justice; ensuring that a Tamil-speaking child in Chennai or a Punjabi-speaking child in Delhi isn’t left behind simply because the textbook speaks a different tongue.

The NEP 2020 doesn’t just talk about language; it places it at the heart of equity. A child in rural Jharkhand should not be disadvantaged just because she doesn’t know Hindi or English on her first day of school. Similarly, a child in Delhi who juggles Punjabi at home, Hindi with friends, and English in school deserves to see this multilingualism as an asset, not a burden. So, between the words of the policy and the realities of a classroom, lie layers of complexity. In practice, the challenges are daunting:

• Teacher preparedness: Most teachers have not been trained to handle multilingual pedagogy. Hence, they often rely on one dominant language.
• Resource gaps are real: Producing textbooks in dozens of languages and dialects, let alone urban classrooms with five spoken languages, is a huge task.
• Parental aspirations can’t be ignored: Many families equate English with upward mobility. Unless English is positioned alongside Indian languages, resistance will remain.

If Delhi shows the challenge of urban multilingualism, the South offers lessons in balancing local pride with global aspirations. Andhra Pradesh introduced bilingual textbooks in Telugu and English, allowing children to anchor themselves in their mother tongue while gradually accessing English. Tamil Nadu has historically defended Tamil’s centrality in education but, in recent years, many schools have adopted a pragmatic bilingual approach. Karnataka has experimented with Kannada-medium instruction alongside English sections, reflecting the social demand for both.

What do these models really show? That multilingualism flourishes when diversity is embraced, not forced into uniformity. Clearly, one size never fits all; real learning happens when language realities shape policy.

It is heartening to know that India is not alone. South Africa’s experiment with home-language instruction faced resistance from parents who preferred English. The Philippines rolled out mother tongue education in 19 languages and saw early literacy gains, though sustaining resources proved difficult. Meanwhile, countries such as Switzerland or Finland show how structured bilingualism can thrive, nurturing children to be fluent in both local and global languages.

Teacher training

At the heart of this lies the teacher. Only a skilled teacher can switch registers, weaving Hindi explanations with English terms, or using a child’s home language to clarify a concept before returning to the main medium. This is not chaos; it is pedagogy, pivoting how learning happens. But, for this to work, teacher education must develop educators to see multilingualism as a strength, not a distraction.

For many parents, English remains a gateway to opportunities and global connectivity. The smarter move, therefore, is to frame English and Indian languages as allies, not adversaries. A child fluent in Tamil and English is doubly empowered, not conflicted. What we need, therefore, is the intent to shift perspectives and let great ideas not remain theories in progress but actions to implement.

Technology isn’t just a support; it is a radical force reshaping education. Imagine an app where a science module is instantly available in Hindi, Bengali, and English, enabling parents and children to switch languages effortlessly. With AI-driven translation, multilingual e-content, and expansive digital libraries, technology makes multilingual education not only possible but infinitely scalable, achieving what print resources could never dream of. That said, the euphoria and the possibilities need to translate into realistic execution.

At the heart of this lies teacher training and development. If gaining knowledge was the bedrock of the 20th century, skills are the currency of the 21st century. Thus, the call to action is to ensure that teachers are reskilled, upskilled, and continuously supported so they can harness technology as a powerful ally, expanding possibilities in the classroom without feeling their role is diminished or replaced.

While NEP 2020 sets a progressive vision for multilingual education, its success depends on its effective implementation. The scale and intensity of teacher training required to make such a transformation real is significant, especially in contexts where resources are already stretched. Urban classrooms, with their layered linguistic diversity, will need more nuanced strategies beyond broad guidelines. Another important consideration is aligning parental aspirations for English and the rightful emphasis on mother-tongue instruction, which will need creative solutions and continuous engagement.

A balanced critique, then, is to celebrate the direction it sets while urging deeper, more pragmatic attention to the lived realities of teachers, parents, and children who will ultimately decide whether this vision takes root in practice.

The NEP 2020 is a bold promise and an unfinished journey. Its greatest strength lies in placing language at the heart of equity, acknowledging India’s extraordinary linguistic richness and its potential to shape inclusive classrooms.

The writer is Director of Education, Shiv Nadar School, India.

Published – March 05, 2026 12:20 pm IST