Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that 22 languages including Odia will now be the mediums of instruction in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools across the country.

Till now, the mediums of instruction in CBSE schools were English and Hindi.

Pradhan said the CBSE has issued a circular in this regard on Friday and allowed other languages as the mediums of instruction in their schools.

He said the new mediums of instruction from classes 1 to 12 were added under the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP).

He said a student who reads in his or her mother tongue understands the subject better than Hindi or English.

Pradhan said schools will make provisions for study in these languages and NCERT has also been asked to prepare textbooks accordingly.

Arrangements will also be made to conduct examinations in these languages, he said.

Taking to Twitter, Pradhan said NEP accords importance to all Indian languages as learning in one’s own mother tongue will enable students to get clarity in any subject.