As the National Education Policy’s (NEP) three-language formula is stirring debate in Parliament and beyond, a Moneycontrol analysis published on Tuesday, March 11, reveals a rising preference for Indian languages in medical entrance exams.

In 2024, with over 2.41 million students taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the proportion opting for English dipped to its lowest in three years, falling from 79.3% in 2019 to 78.6%.

The shift coincides with growing numbers of students choosing regional languages for the exam.

Data from the National Testing Agency (NTA) showed:
- Hindi usage doubled from 1,79,857 in 2019 to 3,57,908 in 2024
- Tamil saw a rise from 17,101 in 2020 to 36,333 in 2024
- Other languages like Bengali have also gained traction

According to the Moneycontrol report, The statistics reflect a broader trend as NEET participation nearly doubled over the past five years.

Despite the dominance of English, still chosen by nearly 80% of NEET candidates, regional preferences vary.

Gujarati speakers declined slightly from 59,395 in 2019 to 58,836 in 2024, while Odia plummeted from 31,490 to 1,312, and Urdu dropped from 1,858 to 1,545 over the same period. 

Amidst this linguistic crisis, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on March 7, urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to commence engineering and medical education in Tamil.

“I appeal to the Tamil Nadu chief minister to start engineering and medical education in Tamil for the benefit of students,” Shah said, addressing the debatable three-language policy debate in the state.