EDUCATION | Assam: VP Naidu says primary education should be imparted in mother tongue

Guwahati, December 4, 2017: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu yesterday said that primary education in schools should be imparted in mother tongue."There is a notion creeping in our society that without speaking English one cannot succeed, or it is only through enrolling children in English-medium schools that their success can be guaranteed, which has to be done away with. I have not studied in any English-medium school," said Naidu, while addressing the Pratidin Time Achiever Awards 2017 function.

"The English language should not become our weakness. I am not against any language and there is no harm in picking up other languages. But the priority has to be our mother tongue and our cultural identity," said the Vice President. "More than the children, it is the parents who have this strange obsession with the English language," Naidu further added.

While stressing the need to uphold the composite cultural identity of the country, Naidu said "India is a land which symbolizes unity in diversity. The philosophy of Indian culture is that the entire world should live in peace. We should be proud of our identity instead of trying to follow foreign culture and tradition."

Naidu also urged the media to focus on news instead of views and opined that an ideal newspaper or literature should be a reflection of the society, its problems and aspirations. He said "Media should be the voice for the voiceless."

Feature image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

TNT News with inputs from The Assam Tribune