Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday, 1 September announced that school textbooks for Classes 1 to 8 are being developed in 22 languages across India, marking a significant step toward multilingual education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The announcement was made at NCERT's 66th Foundation Day celebrations in New Delhi.

Scale of the Multilingual Initiative

Beyond the 22 languages for school textbooks, Joshi disclosed that 122 foundational language materials are being prepared across various Indian languages. Of these, 93 are in tribal languages — a deliberate effort to bring formal education within reach of communities that have historically been left at the margins of mainstream schooling.

The minister noted that enabling children to learn in their mother tongue would ease comprehension, improve retention, and help extend quality education to diverse regions and communities throughout the country.

NEP 2020 as the Reform Blueprint

Joshi credited the National Education Policy 2020 with laying the groundwork for these reforms, citing its emphasis on holistic development, creativity, logical thinking, experiential learning, and competency-based education. He described the policy as a comprehensive framework that moves school education away from rote learning toward applied understanding.

This comes amid a broader national push to align India's education system with the demands of a rapidly changing global economy, where skills such as digital literacy, artificial intelligence, and problem-solving are increasingly essential alongside traditional academic subjects.

NCERT's Role and Future Mandate

Lauding NCERT — which has been central to India's school education architecture for over six decades — Joshi called on the body to double down on innovation, inclusivity, and research. He emphasised that the organisation's textbooks, study materials, and curricular frameworks have been foundational to shaping school education nationwide.

Notably, he urged NCERT to evolve in step with future educational needs rather than rest on its legacy. 'Imparting knowledge of traditional subjects is not enough,' Joshi said, stressing the need to equip students with skills relevant to the 21st century.

Mental Health Enters the Curriculum Conversation

In a significant addition to the education policy discourse, the minister flagged students' mental health as a crucial and often-overlooked component of the school system. He called for targeted curriculum changes and enhanced teacher training to address children's mental well-being — a concern that has gained urgency following post-pandemic reports of rising anxiety and stress among school-going children in India.

What Comes Next

With 122 foundational language materials in preparation and textbook development already under way across 22 languages, the implementation timeline and rollout schedule across states will be closely watched. Education stakeholders and state governments will need to align their curricula and teacher capacities with the new multilingual materials for the initiative to deliver on its promise.