In a groundbreaking move, the central government has unveiled the ‘Anuvadini’ app, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered platform aimed at promoting multilingualism in education. This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes the importance of studying in one’s mother tongue for better academic performance and innovative thinking.
What is Anuvadini AI?
The ‘Anuvadini’ app is designed to make study materials for all school and higher education courses available in digital form, specifically in Indian languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. This step recognizes India’s rich linguistic diversity as a significant asset for the nation’s socio-cultural, economic, and educational development.
Key Directives:
- Educational Accessibility: The University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), and the Department of School Education have been instructed to ensure the availability of study materials in regional languages.
- Multilingual Materials: Educational regulators, including UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU, and institutions like IITs, Central Universities, and NITs, are mandated to make study materials accessible in Indian languages within the next three years.
Breaking Down Barriers
The ‘Anuvadini’ app is an AI-driven tool developed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to facilitate document translation into multiple Indian languages. It supports 22 regional and foreign languages, aiming to bridge language barriers and enhance accessibility to quality education across India.
While the app provides translations, it is crucial to carefully edit and validate the translated materials to ensure that the original context and meaning are maintained. This initiative is significant in enhancing academic performance and fostering innovative thinking among students by allowing them to study in their native languages.
Ministerial Perspectives:
Deepak Kesarkar, School Education Minister, emphasizes the promotion of multilingualism to provide students with the opportunity to excel academically in their mother tongue. He states, “Studying in one’s language can provide a natural opportunity for a student to think innovatively without any language barrier.”
Chandrakant Patil, Higher and Technical Education Minister, highlights the two-year effort in translating engineering, medical, law, undergraduate, postgraduate, and skill course materials using the ‘Anuvadini’ app. These translated materials are available on the e-Kumbh portal, and study materials for school education are available in more than 30 Indian languages on the Diksha portal.
Empowering Education, Enriching Minds
The ‘Anuvadini’ app is a significant step towards empowering students by providing them with access to educational resources in their native languages. It acknowledges the value of India’s multilingual heritage and aims to foster a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.
By breaking down language barriers, the app has the potential to unlock new frontiers of knowledge and understanding, enabling students to engage with complex concepts and ideas without the added burden of linguistic barriers.
As the government continues to implement the NEP 2020, initiatives like ‘Anuvadini’ are paving the way for a more inclusive and accessible education system, one that celebrates India’s linguistic diversity while equipping students with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.