Language Barriers in Indian Primary Schools Leave Millions of Children Struggling
India's education system is grappling with a problem that goes beyond shortcomings in infrastructure or the curriculum. At the heart of the country's major learning crisis in primary schools is the significant gap between the language children speak at home and the language in which they are taught at school. Millions of children, particularly those in rural and tribal areas, are placed at a disadvantage from their very first day of school because they are taught in the state's official language, Hindi or English rather than in their mother tongue.
In India, where hundreds of different languages and dialects are spoken, a significant proportion of children starting school are unable even to understand what their teachers are saying in the classroom. Analyses suggest that during the early years of schooling, particularly between Years 1 and 3, children spend a considerable amount of time trying to understand a language that is unfamiliar to them instead of developing skills in mathematics, science and basic literacy.
Regardless of a child's cognitive ability, this language barrier reduces classroom participation, undermines self confidence and ultimately contributes to significantly higher school dropout rates.