IITs To Offer Engineering Courses In Indian Languages Alongside English

IITs will offer engineering courses in Indian languages, aligning the curriculum with industry needs through collaboration with experienced professionals.

A sports quota will be implemented across all IITs to encourage athletic talent alongside academic pursuits.

Source : Social Media

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will now promote education not just in English but also in Indian languages. Students will soon have the option to pursue technical courses like engineering in their mother tongue or regional language. To enable this, changes will be made at every level — from study material to research. The decision was taken during the 56th meeting of the IIT Council chaired by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, attended by directors of IITs and subject experts.

Engineering Education in Regional Languages

The council decided that IITs will make their courses available in Indian languages as well. At present, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is preparing engineering textbooks in 11 regional languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Kannada, Odia, Gujarati, and Punjabi. IIT Jodhpur has already introduced the option of pursuing BTech in Hindi, and other IITs are expected to follow.

Industry Collaboration to Shape Curriculum

The meeting also stressed aligning the curricula of the Indian Institute of Technology with industry needs. Industry support will be sought for everything from research to product development. Experts believe this will raise the quality of research to global standards and give Indian innovations international recognition. Under the University Grants Commission's Professor of Practice scheme, experienced industry professionals will also get the opportunity to teach students.

Focus on Mental Health and Sports

Education Minister Pradhan highlighted that IITs' responsibility goes beyond academics, stressing the importance of supporting students' mental health. He suggested annual health check-ups for every student and closer engagement by the institutes to address their concerns. The council also agreed to implement a sports quota across all IITs, giving talented athletes a chance to excel in both academics and sports.