SC asks Rajasthan to frame policy promoting Rajasthani in schools

The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan government to prepare a comprehensive policy for recognizing and promoting Rajasthani as a medium of instruction in schools, saying that education in one’s mother tongue is closely linked to constitutional and existential rights.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said language plays a central role in ensuring meaningful participation in society and access to education. The court stressed that students learn more effectively when taught in a language they understand well.

Court Stresses Importance of Mother Tongue Education

The bench observed that the ability to understand and communicate in one’s own language cannot be treated merely as a matter of convenience.

“The ability to understand and be understood in one’s own language is not a matter of convenience, but a matter of existential rights, for comprehension must necessarily precede meaningful participation in society and day-to-day life activities,” the bench said.

“It is in this context that language, being the means of expression, is the very essence of an individual,” it added.

The court directed the state government to develop an effective policy in line with constitutional principles and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which encourages mother tongue-based education in the early years of schooling.

Directions to Rajasthan Government

The judgment came while hearing a plea filed by Padam Mehta and another petitioner challenging the exclusion of Rajasthani from the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) syllabus and seeking wider recognition of the language in school education.

The bench instructed the Rajasthan government to take steps to recognize Rajasthani as a regional language for educational purposes and gradually introduce it as a medium of instruction, beginning with foundational and preparatory classes before expanding to higher levels.

The court also ordered the state to introduce Rajasthani as a subject in both government and private schools through a phased implementation process.

Recognition Already Exists in Universities

The Supreme Court noted that Rajasthani is already being taught at several universities in the state, including Jai Narain Vyas University in Jodhpur, Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Bikaner, and the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur.

Despite this, the state government had maintained that only languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution are taught as additional languages in primary and upper primary government schools.

“Yet, the procrastinating stand consistently taken by the state is that only those languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution are being taught as additional languages in government primary and upper primary schools,” the bench said.

The court criticized this approach, saying the academic presence of Rajasthani at the university level clearly establishes its institutional and pedagogical acceptance.

Constitutional and Educational Rights

The bench said constitutional guarantees linked to inclusive and accessible education cannot remain ineffective due to administrative inaction.

“Constitutional guarantees and policy declarations, particularly those bearing upon access to meaningful and inclusive education, cannot be permitted to remain dormant for want of executive action,” the bench said.

The judges added that courts cannot ignore the weakening of rights already recognized through constitutional provisions and policy frameworks.

“While it is not the province of this court to enter upon the arena of policy formulation, it is nonetheless its solemn constitutional duty to ensure that the guarantees enshrined in Part III of the Constitution are not rendered illusory by executive inaction or indifference,” the bench said.

The court further observed that once the Union government has recognized the importance of education in a language understood by children, states are equally obligated to implement those principles effectively.

The bench stated that the right to receive education in one’s mother language is connected to Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression.

According to the court, meaningful education requires students not only to communicate but also to fully understand and process information.

“Viewed through this constitutional lens, it follows that education, being a primary vehicle for transmission of knowledge, must, to the extent practicable, be imparted in a language that the child understands best,” the bench said.

“Instruction in the mother language, or a language of choice, fortifies the learner’s conceptual clarity, ensures deeper cognitive engagement, and secures the constitutional promise of meaningful access to knowledge,” the bench added.

The judgment also highlighted that mother tongues contribute to cognitive development, cultural continuity, and active participation in the learning process.