Unesco Report Flags Language Barriers In Tribal Education
Report highlights declining school enrolment, unfamiliar teaching languages and inadequate multilingual learning resources affecting tribal children.
A child may speak Gondi, Kolami or Lambadi at home but enter a classroom where neither the textbooks nor the teacher use a familiar language. While discussing mother-tongue education, the question of whose mother tongue schools actually recognise becomes important.
According to Unesco’s ‘Bhasha Matters: State of the Education Report for India 2025 on Mother Tongue and Multilingual Education’, gross enrolment ratios stood at 95.2 per cent for Classes VI to VIII, dropping to 76.9 per cent for Classes IX and X and declining further to 48.7 per cent for Classes XI and XII. While the report primarily focused on how language affected students, identifying unfamiliar teaching languages and barriers to tribal education, it also called for changes in teacher recruitment, textbooks and funding.
“Access is not the problem, retention and learning are,” the report stated, citing UDISE+ 2023-24 figures.
“Most tribal children enter school speaking a tribal mother tongue, yet instruction begins in the state’s dominant language or, increasingly, in English, causing early comprehension breakdowns and long-term learning loss,” the report stated.
Other challenges included schools located far from tribal habitations, unreliable transport, inadequate hostel accommodation and seasonal migration. Girls faced additional difficulties because of unsafe travel routes, limited residential facilities and reduced academic support outside school.
The report recommended giving preference to teachers proficient in children's home languages, particularly in tribal regions, and improving the availability of multilingual textbooks.
A similar concern was raised during a public discussion organised by the Telangana Education Commission (TEC) in May 2025 on English-medium education in government schools, where participants debated the role of English and mother-tongue instruction.
Prof. Padmaja Shaw of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) questioned why discussions on mother-tongue education often overlooked tribal children whose first language was neither Telugu nor English. She asked whether teaching tribal children in Telugu amounted to the same linguistic imposition as teaching them in English and questioned why children from disadvantaged communities should be denied the English-medium education available to wealthier families.
“Is Telugu not an imposition for tribal children, just like English,” she asked.
Telangana has developed 274 textbook titles across eight languages for Classes I to X, including 48 each in Telugu and English, 43 each in Hindi and Urdu, and eight in Bengali. However, tribal languages remain poorly represented in learning technology, while limited connectivity and access to devices restrict their use in remote communities.
Unesco recommended greater investment in language technology, offline educational resources and community-developed materials for lesser-used languages. The report also calls for dedicated allocations within central and state education schemes, including Samagra Shiksha, to support multilingual teacher recruitment and learning materials.
“Recruitment rules should prioritise teachers proficient in learners’ home languages and regional languages, especially in tribal and border areas, and recognise multilingual competence as an asset in selection and promotion,” the report recommended.