Published Paper Details:

Odisha is a linguistically diverse state having more than 60 tribal clans and numerous spoken languages in India, that indicates how important multilingual education (MLE) is to achieving the mission of the National Education Policy-2020. During the foundational years through mother tongue-based education, the policy emphasizes equity, inclusion, and all-round development. With the help of multilingual textbooks, teacher training, and community participation, in Odisha Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) initiative, which was started in 2006, offered early schooling in tribal languages like Santali, Kui, and Saura. These programs have protected indigenous cultural heritage, improved foundational literacy, and removed barriers to learning. However, still now certain issues are there like- inadequacy of qualified trained teachers, shortage of educational materials, opposition to mother tongue instruction, and trouble switching between Odia and English. Despite these challenges, the experience of Odisha shows that language variety may be an asset rather than a liability and that improving MLE is essential for sustainable, culturally sensitive, and equitable education that is in line with NEP-2020.