Learning in mother tongue strengthens academic success & cultural preservation

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Mother-tongue education enhances the pace of learning, boosts academic achievement, and helps narrow knowledge gaps among students. By building multilingual education on a foundation of the first language, learners are better equipped to participate fully in society while safeguarding the rich cultural and traditional heritage embedded in every language.

Talking to this newspaper, academicians and experts feel that children who are taught in a language they are most familiar with tend to understand ideas more quickly, gain confidence in their abilities, and cultivate sharper critical thinking skills.

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Bohra Mushtaque Ali (headmaster, Burhani National Urdu High School): From the primary level up to the second grade, it is essential to be in the mother tongue because the brain does not need to translate. This greatly increases the child's grasping power. Because of this, mother tongue education allows parents to teach better at home. In the higher grades, the mind develops enough to bridge the translation gap.

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Mother-Tongue Education: need of hour

R D Tayade (Headmaster, Maharashtra Hindi Vidyalaya): A student in India is perhaps the only one in the world who has to study three languages at the same time. The first is the mother tongue, the second is Hindi, which is regarded as the national language, and the third is English, the international language.

Education through the mother tongue greatly enhances a child’s intellectual, emotional, and social development. Since the mother tongue is the natural language of a child’s thoughts, knowledge is absorbed more effectively. It strengthens thinking ability, imagination and problem-solving skills. Learners gain confidence and participate actively in classroom activities. It also nurtures an understanding of culture, traditions, and history. As a result, dropout rates decrease and the foundation of learning becomes stronger.

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Mother tongue is the mother who gives birth to the seeds of thoughts. In its lap, the first leaves of intellect sprout and the sun of confidence rises. Education in a foreign language often shows the brilliance and brilliance of words; but mother tongue widens the circle of meanings and the sphere of wisdom. If the seeds of knowledge are planted in the soil of our language, they become trees and create a vision of culture. Education in the mother tongue widens the sphere of understanding. Otherwise, education becomes only a mask. Otherwise, students do not understand Shakespeare and do not know Dnyaneshwar. Therefore, acquire foreign language skills, but the basic letters should be instilled in the mother tongue. Because the mother tongue is the mother of thoughts and the lifeblood of art, literature and culture. Compulsory education should be provided in the mother tongue at least up to the seventh standard. There is no bitterness in Maharashtra about the mother tongue Marathi like in the south. The southern speaking community does not give importance to any other language except their mother tongue, which is why their language is made compulsory in education from KG to PG. There is no problem in learning other languages, but education should be given through the mother tongue. If Marathi schools are closed and education is not given through the mother tongue, the future of the Marathi language is very bleak.... We are building the structure of our language and are witnessing its death with our own eyes. Political apathy and the great importance given to English, the imposition of Hindi language are all the reasons for the decline of the Marathi language. The mother tongue Marathi has achieved elite status, but what next to maintain the existence of the language? This question arises in the mind. Therefore, if the Marathi language is to be preserved, education through the mother tongue is the need of the hour. Knowledgeable people and politicians should understand that the Marathi language will not survive unless Marathi is made a language of knowledge and a language that provides employment.

(Poet, Dr. Lalit Adhane)