B-Tech courses in five local languages from this year

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that 14 engineering colleges across eight states have started to offer B Tech in five regional languages for the first time in India.

“This will especially help the poor, needy, Dalits and other backward classes,” the PM said at an event organised by the Union Education Ministry to mark one year of the National Education Policy. “We have also developed a tool to translate engineering courses in 11 regional languages. I congratulate students starting their education in regional languages,” he added.

Authorities in the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) explained that while 60 additional seats have been approved in the 14 institutions, the initial plan was to introduce the course in 12 regional languages in a phase-wise manner.

The five languages in which B Tech is being offered are Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Bengali. M P Poonia, the Vice Chairman of AICTE told this newspaper that, “The engineering institutions which are interested in starting courses in other regional languages without increasing the number of seats are also being allowed from the current academic session.”

The PM also launched two schemes: Vidya Pravesh, a three month preschool preparation module for grade one students and SAFAL (Structured Assessment For Analyzing Learning Levels), a competency based assessment framework in CBSE schools for grade three, five and eight.

In addition to speaking about the guidelines for internationalisation of higher education, the PM launched the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) that will provide multiple entry and exit options for students in higher education.