The UN proclaimed and UNESCO-coordinated "International Mother Language Day" is being observed on February 21 since 2000 to emphasize the 'importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies' and 'to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others.'
UNESCO has advocated for the mother tongue-based multilingual education in early schooling with commitment to its development in public life. "Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way," states UNESCO.
In her message, UNESCO chief, Audrey Azoulay, states, "The theme of the Day this year, 'Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society', thus encourages us to support multilingualism and the use of mother tongues, both at school and in everyday life. This is essential, because when 40% of the world's inhabitants do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best, it hinders their learning, as well as their access to heritage and cultural expressions. This year, special attention is being paid to multilingual education from early childhood, so that for children, their mother tongue is always an asset."
Implications for India are as follows:
1. School education system should allow individual schools to prepare and transact the multi-lingual curriculum for grades 1 and 2 as per the linguistic diversity of their catchment areas
2. Learn from the experiments already done by Eklavaya, Lok Jumbish, CULP, and those captured by the NCERT for making education inclusive through multiliguism and transitional curricula to accommodate children to school language
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