In the hustle of a rural Jharkhand, a 10-year-old school girl sits in total silence as her peers recite phrases in a language she least understands. Sanskrit was also the third language in her school, but the teachers were not trained since nobody was. Already, Anjali speaks Hindi as her home language but has difficulties with Hindi and English. The third language is more of a burden as compared to a connector now. The NEP policy introduced the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and renewed the concept of the Three-Language Formula, a half-century-old idea that was to make India multilingual and unified. Based on this policy, the students are supposed to learn three languages, and these are two native to India and one to be the English language. Although the motive has been good, its application has been slow, sporadic, and wrong in most instances.

A Promise of the Three-Language Policy

The Three-Language Formula requires students to study three languages, two native to India and one foreign, an element that has been part of the NEP since 1968 and makes a reappearance in NEP 2020. Its policy should serve the purposes of nation-building and cultural sensitivity in a multilingual society. It has been found that children who are exposed to various languages at a very early age perform better in terms of memory, solving problems, and are also more empathetic. This multilingual vision is even stronger with the NEP 2020 making teaching in the mother tongue, or regional language, mandatory till at least Grade 5. Although the NEP gives leeway to states to select appropriate language combinations, there is no clarity on how the policy should operate, which has morphed it into a regionalised nightmare. Nonetheless, analysts caution that policy-practice disparity has gotten wider.

“Multilingual education can be transformative, but not when it’s implemented without support,” says Prof. Renu Gupta, a linguist and policy analyst. “What we are seeing is an administrative push without proper planning.”

The Real Roadblocks on the Ground

1. Shortage of Teachers and Resources

In Maharashtra, some Zilla Parishad schools state that there is a lack of special teachers to teach third languages. It is suggested that implementing the three-language structure in government schools without providing a specific language teacher. In Satara, Beed, Hindi, and Sanskrit lessons are taught by teachers who have a mere understanding of the matter.

In Kokrajhar, Bodo-speaking students, especially those in Assam, are having difficulty learning Hindi, and schools are desperate to hire Bodo teachers who have received training in the multilingual requirements of the NEP. Schools in Karnataka that have offered French or German as the third language quota have appointed part-time instructors (who are not always trained) to curb the cost. 

In a report issued last month by the Ministry of Education, more than 40 per cent of the public schools do not have at least the minimum staff necessary in language departments, resulting in a large-scale crowding of the available personnel.

“I’m an English teacher, but I’ve been asked to take basic Urdu lessons thrice a week,” shared a teacher from a school in Uttar Pradesh on condition of anonymity. “I don’t have any formal training in Urdu, and the students are just memorizing phrases without understanding them.”

2. Regional Resistance and Political Tensions

Other states, such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, have spoken out against the third language track and would rather continue with their current two-language framework. The Tamil Nadu state government has always been anti-three-language policy and has been practicing the two-language formula (Tamil and English). Mandate of the third language, particularly Hindi, is seen by the political leaders as a linguistic identity imposition. 

“We cannot allow language policy to become a tool for homogenization,” said a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu’s School Education Department. “Our children are already proficient in Tamil and English. Forcing Hindi or Sanskrit is neither practical nor respectful of our linguistic identity.”

The same fear has been raised in West Bengal, especially among the tribals, where Bengali and Santali languages are spoken. The use of Hindi or Sanskrit in such schools normally establishes a gap between the students and the language. In tribal-dominated areas of Jalpaiguri and Purulia, third-language schools were established, whereas a substantial number of the students belong to Santhali-speaking households and have no prior ground knowledge of Bengali.

Based on the example of Odisha, the state government now runs Santhali-medium modules in lower classes and then shifts to languages prescribed by the state.

3. Cognitive Overload for Students

Multilingual education has had pedagogical advantages, but only under the condition of a well-scaffolded and supported use of learners.

The tribal children in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh already have problems learning Hindi or English, which are not their native language. Introducing a third language without assistance, such as Sanskrit or Urdu, does not indicate competence.

The study conducted by Azim Premji Foundation (2022) indicates that multilingual classrooms not appropriately scaffolded had a lower comprehension performance by 35 percent compared to those in dual-language contexts.

“Adding a third language doesn’t automatically make children smarter. If they’re still struggling with the first two, it leads to mental fatigue and disinterest,” said Dr. Meena Pillai, an educational psychologist based in Bhopal.

Glimmers of Hope: When the Policy Works

Despite these challenges, some states and institutions offer hope through innovation and thoughtful adaptation.

• Odisha’s Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)

Odisha is a bright example of a multilingual education that may be culturally responsive and efficient. The state has also introduced a program in more than 2,000 schools where tribal people mainly teach, and the first teaching is done in the tribal language of the child, which can be Santali, Ji, or Saura. Little by little, students switch to Odia and then to English.

In this case, the people of the local community were involved in developing textbooks and audio-visual materials in the tribal language. The result? More attendance, better understanding, and better-balanced self-confidence among students.

“When we started using the local language, attendance went up and children became more engaged,” said a school principal in Kandhamal district. “They’re no longer afraid of the classroom.”

The model of Odisha is now under observation of other states with an interest in a more inclusive solution to multilingual education.

• Chhattisgarh’s Bilingual Storybooks Initiative

In Chhattisgarh, where, like in the other states in this region, studies are conducted in languages different from those spoken by the children, the SCERT published bilingual storybooks in 18 of the tribal languages, which allow children to reconcile their native dialect with the language of formal studies. The books that came out in collaboration with the tribal elders and teachers became the instruments of transition, rather than trauma.

The third language adds value and makes learning to be more meaningful, but does not overpower learning in this inclusive model. In pilot stages, preliminary findings indicate improved student retention and reading comprehension.

“For many kids, these are the first books they see in their mother tongue,” shared a volunteer with a local literacy NGO.

• Kerala’s emphasis on Flexibility and Student Choice

Kerala has adopted a student-oriented strategy so that the schools would teach Malayalam and English, as well as an option of a third language such as Arabic, Hindi, or Sanskrit.

“We believe in linguistic freedom. Our emphasis is on depth, not compulsion,” said a Kerala SCERT official.

Arabic is also taught as a third language in some schools in Malappuram and Kozhikode that are meeting the needs of the community and are relevant to the diaspora. The flexible approach to the issue has ensured minimal resistance and has facilitated the process of integration in Kerala, yet in the rural schools, there are still some occasional problems associated with teacher shortages.

The Way Forward: Flexible, Not Forced

There is a consensus among experts and educators that the three-language policy ought not to be abandoned, but mentalized in a way that is flexible and locally autonomous and pedagogically alert.

Key Recommendations:

• Localized Language Choice: States ought to have discretion over selecting third languages depending on the demographic requirements. Such as Arabic in Kerala, French in Puducherry, or Santali in Jharkhand.
• Invest in Teachers: Language teachers should be recruited, trained, and motivated. Human instruction should not be entirely replaced, but human instruction can be complemented by digital tools, such as DIKSHA and Bhashini.
• Pilot Before Expansion: Pilot projects ought to be done in selected districts in preference to top-down requirements, and the subsequent expansion is done.
• Community Engagement: In tribal and rural regions, the parents and other local leaders should be involved in the development of the curriculum.

Conclusion: A Policy Worth Saving—If Done Right

One of the strongest traditions of India is the multilingual side of this country. The three-language dream contained in the NEP 2020 plans to fulfill this diversity. Unless the policy is planned systematically, with sufficient support to teachers and with consideration of regional circumstances, the policy will bring more confusion as opposed to empowerment.

“Language should be a ladder, not a barrier,” said Dr. G. N. Devy, renowned linguist and founder of the People's Linguistic Survey of India. “We need to teach our children in languages that speak to their hearts—only then will education truly become inclusive.”

As the little girl in Jharkhand flips through her untouched Sanskrit textbook, she deserves more than rote memorization. She deserves education in a language that speaks to her— and teaches her to speak to the world.

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