Bihar Schools to Introduce 6 Regional Languages from 2026-27

The Bihar government will introduce six regional languages in government primary schools from the 2026-27 academic session. Under this initiative, students in Classes 1 and 2 will learn in their native language, making early education more accessible and easier to understand.

The initiative follows the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which encourages using a child’s mother tongue, home language, or local language as the medium of instruction during the early foundational years of education.

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Bihar, prepares textbooks, supplementary reading materials and interactive visual aids in selected regional languages.

Primary school children reading books in their regional language. (Image credit: Google)

Six Regional Languages will be Introduced in Bihar Schools

For the first phase of the initiative, the Bihar government has selected six regional languages spoken by different communities across the state, including -

• Bhojpuri
• Magahi
• Maithili
• Bajjika
• Angika
• Surjapuri

Teacher teaching young students in a Bihar government school. (Image Credit: Google)

How will Students Benefit from learning in their Mother Tongue?

• Teaching in the mother tongue will improve reading skills and basic numeracy.
• Students will be able to express themselves confidently when they learn and speak in the language they use at home.
• Specialised orientation workshops will train primary educators in bilingual pedagogy, allowing teachers to guide students smoothly from the mother tongue into standard Hindi and English.

The state government is thinking of extending this initiative to classes 3, 4, and 5 in the coming years, and study materials will be prepared in regional languages for these classes as well. This initiative will increase the use of local languages in the primary sections of government schools across Bihar.