J&K mandates mother tongue, home language as instruction medium in schools

Riyaz Bhat

Srinagar, June 9: The government Tuesday said that mother tongue and home language shall be used as the primary medium of instruction in early years in schools of Jammu and Kashmir with gradual bridging to additional languages.

It also ordered the school administration to ensure that by the end of Grade II, every child reads age-appropriate text with fluency, demonstrates comprehension, and retells stories sequentially.

 State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT-J&K) said this in a circular regarding the strengthening of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) at the Foundational Stage (Age 3-8 Years) in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 and NIPUN Bharat Mission.

SCERT said that the academic reviews and field observations have indicated the need for systematic strengthening of literacy and numeracy practices at the Foundational Stage (3-8 years).

“In order to ensure uniform and effective implementation of FLN goals across the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, there shall be use of home language, mother tongue as the primary medium in early years, with gradual bridging to additional languages.”

These measures are to be implemented in all government and government-aided schools and Anganwadi centres.

The government also said that all Schools and Anganwadi Centres shall ensure the development of early language and literacy through structured opportunities for listening and speaking, including storytelling, rhymes, poems, and guided discussions.

It also said that there shall be a creation and effective utilization of print-rich classroom environments like labelled objects, charts, word walls, and children’s work.

The government further said that the schools and Anganwadi centres shall adopt a play-based literacy approaches, rote alphabet drills without context shall be discouraged.

“There shall be daily engagement in phonological awareness activities such as rhyming, syllable segmentation, blending, and sound
identification,” reads the circular.

It also said that the schools shall ensure developmentally appropriate writing progression from drawing and scribbling to meaningful words and short sentences.

“There shall be a continuous and observation-based formative assessment; formal written examinations at preschool level are strictly prohibited,” it reads.

It also asked the schools to ensure that by the end of Grade-II, every child reads age-appropriate text with fluency, demonstrates comprehension, and retells stories sequentially.

About the strengthening of Foundational Numeracy Competencies, Mathematics instruction at the Foundational Stage shall emphasize conceptual understanding through experiential and activity-based learning, including pre-number and logical thinking activities like sorting, matching, classification, comparison, seriation, and one-to-one correspondence.

The government also said that schools shall have the development of number sense through meaningful counting, numeral-quantity association, cardinality, and understanding of zero.

SCERT-J&K in a circular also said that the schools shall Introduce addition and subtraction using concrete materials and real-life contexts.

Regarding the adoption of appropriate pedagogical practices, the government said that the instruction at the Foundational Stage shall be child-centric, competency-based, and activity-oriented and based on the Concrete Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach.

The government further said that the Heads of Institutions, in coordination with Zonal Education Officers and concerned teachers, shall be responsible for ensuring that all learners attain the prescribed foundational literacy and numeracy competencies within the stipulated timeframe. —(KNO)