The medium of instruction in Indian schools is no longer a peripheral debate. It has become a battleground with deep implications for equity, learning outcomes, and cultural continuity. Nowhere is this shift more visible than in Tamil Nadu. Once a bastion of regional linguistic pride, the state now leads the country in English medium enrolment, with 73% of students studying in English, according to UDISE+ 2022–23.
In contrast, Hindi-speaking states such as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh lag behind, with only 25–30% of students in English-medium schools. These states also report significantly higher dropout rates — Bihar clocks in at 18.3% for Class 8, compared with Tamil Nadu’s 4.2%, as per the ASER 2023 survey. The data exposes a structural contradiction: while English is seen as a passport to upward mobility, its premature imposition often undermines basic comprehension, especially among first-generation learners.
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Regional aspirations to English imperative
Post-independence policy had once favoured regional languages as the primary medium of school instruction, aiming to make education more accessible and culturally anchored. But the Right to Education Act of 2009 left the question of medium of instruction ambiguous, creating space for private, English-medium institutions to flourish. The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) attempted to restore linguistic balance by recommending mother tongue education till at least Grade 5, preferably till Grade 8. Yet without statutory enforcement, this remains a toothless suggestion.
In practice, the pendulum has swung firmly towards English medium — especially in states that view linguistic globalism as central to their development strategies. Tamil Nadu’s trajectory is illustrative. In 2011, the state launched English medium sections in 5,000 government schools. By 2021, through Policy Order No. 72, this expanded quietly to all levels up to Class 12. The impact was swift and stark: within five years, 42% of students had shifted from Tamil-medium to English.
Officials framed this as a move towards equity — giving government school students the same opportunities as their private-school peers. But the gains are uneven. According to NAS 2021, English medium students in Tamil Nadu scored 12% lower in language assessments compared with their Tamil medium counterparts, pointing to comprehension gaps triggered by early language transition.
Learning deficit of semi-literacy
This paradox is not confined to Tamil Nadu. West Bengal offers another cautionary tale. According to its school board, 58% of Class 5 students cannot read Bengali at grade level. A system caught between two languages — without mastery of either — is producing what experts now call “semi-literacy.” The fallout is not just academic but economic.
ASER 2022 data suggests vernacular-medium students are three times more likely to drop out after Class 10 than their English medium peers. Meanwhile, NSSO 2019 data shows English-medium graduates earn 34% more on average, yet only 22% report actual fluency — revealing a growing mismatch between perceived and real competence in English.
Cultural cost of linguistic drift
Beyond the data lies a subtler erosion: cultural alienation. An NCERT study found that 68% of English medium students in Tamil Nadu could not write a simple sentence in Tamil by Class 8. In West Bengal, the Sahitya Akademi reports a 41% drop in readership of Bengali children’s literature since 2015. The medium of instruction shift is producing students disconnected both from their heritage and from the aspirational language they struggle to master.
Language is not merely a communication tool—it is the vessel of identity, memory, and imagination. The dislocation from one’s linguistic roots can fracture both academic grounding and cultural confidence.
Alternatives to English medium
Policymakers face a difficult choice. Andhra Pradesh chose the English medium-only path in 2020, mandating English instruction in all government schools. Enrolments rose briefly, but learning outcomes declined, raising red flags about cognitive overload and language confusion.
Other states have chosen more measured approaches. Kerala has introduced bilingual textbooks, allowing Malayalam to co-exist with English. Karnataka’s Nudi Mission reinforces Kannada through curriculum and community engagement. Delhi’s public schools offer English medium instruction alongside scheduled periods in the mother tongue — a hybrid model that appears more pedagogically sound.
International comparisons are instructive. China teaches English as a second language but retains Mandarin (Putonghua) as the medium of instruction. The result is linguistic coherence with global adaptability — something India can aspire to but has yet to institutionalise.
A blueprint for coherence
A systemic policy response is overdue. The Right to Education Act must be amended to establish clear guidelines on medium of instruction in early schooling, mandating mother tongue instruction during foundational years. National Achievement Survey protocols should expand to assess proficiency in both English and regional languages.
Teacher training must integrate Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), allowing for simultaneous acquisition of subject knowledge and language skills. Financial incentives — perhaps through “language conservation grants” — could help sustain regional-language schools, while CSR funding could be directed towards digital content creation in vernaculars.
Higher education institutions, meanwhile, should recognise the structural hurdles faced by vernacular-medium students—perhaps through targeted scholarships or reservation advantages. Public campaigns that valorise multilingualism can reshape social perception, making fluency in one’s mother tongue a matter of pride, not disadvantage.
State education departments could release annual Language Report Cards to track trends in linguistic education. Special education zones could be carved out to preserve tribal and endangered languages. A National Digital Library accessible in all scheduled languages would go a long way in democratising knowledge.
India’s linguistic diversity is both its strength and its vulnerability. Mismanaged, the medium of instruction could become a fault line that deepens inequality and hastens cultural erasure. But with foresight, India could position itself as a truly multilingual nation — rooted in its linguistic heritage while fully engaged with the global future.
Debdulal Thakur is Professor, Vinayaka Mission’s School of Economics and Public Policy, Chennai.