Bihar Schools to Teach in Local Languages: The state government of Bihar has made a decision to make it mandatory to teach local languages like Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Bajjika in the Class 1 and Class 2 syllabus for all the government schools of the state from the upcoming academic year. This decision, according to Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari, will help to boost mother tongue learning among young students in line with NEP 2020.

The task of textbook preparation in six local languages would be taken up by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). These languages would comprise Bhojpuri, Magahi, Surjapuri, Bajjika, Maithili and Angika.

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The step has come after NEP 2020, where there has been a recommendation for teaching the mother tongue in the early years. SCERT Bihar would develop learning material and textbooks, and training of teachers would be done in bilingual methods to ease the transition of children into standard Hindi and English.

Mother Tongue Takes the Center Stage:

For many years now, several students in Bihar have joined Class 1 speaking one language at home and the other in school. It is aimed to close this gap through the new policy. Starting from 2026-27 academic session, students in Class 1 and 2 in government schools would be taught in their local languages such as Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili, Bajjika, Angika and Surjapuri.

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Expected Impact on Early Learning

Educators state that early contact with a new language leads to knowledge gaps and apathy. In the use of the mother tongue in teaching, reading skills and numeracy are improved, as students know the meaning of things but do not have enough vocabulary. It will also encourage them to talk more freely using the dialect used by their families and communities.

Teacher Training and the Journey towards Hindi and English

Orientation workshops will be held by the education department to train the primary school teachers on how to teach in two languages. This will enable teachers to lead students slowly to learn Standard Hindi and, subsequently, English.