That's right. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on July 23, 2023, that students in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools across the country can now learn in 22 languages, including Odia.
The other languages that students can choose from are:
- Assamese
- Bengali
- Bodo
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Kashmiri
- Malayalam
- Marathi
- Manipuri
- Nepali
- Oriya
- Punjabi
- Sanskrit
- Sindhi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
- Maithili
- Santhali
The decision to allow 22 languages as mediums of instruction in CBSE schools was taken under the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP). The NEP emphasizes the importance of mother tongue-based education and says that students should be able to learn in their mother tongue or in the language they are comfortable with.
The CBSE has issued a circular in this regard and schools will be required to make arrangements for study in these languages. NCERT has also been asked to prepare textbooks accordingly.
This is a welcome move that will give students the opportunity to learn in their mother tongue or in a language they are comfortable with. It will also help to promote linguistic diversity and cultural understanding in India.