Regional Languages Decline Sharply in NEET Exams

A dramatic shift away from regional languages in India's medical entrance examination reveals the growing dominance of English and Hindi. NTA data shows Marathi registrations plunging from 31,239 in 2019 to just 1,144 in 2026, while Odia fell from 31,490 to 716 during the same period. Tamil and Gujarati have also seen significant declines.

In contrast, English registrations rose from 12.04 lakh to 18.08 lakh, while Hindi increased from 1.79 lakh to 3.45 lakh. The trend is primarily driven by limited availability of scientific terminology, reference books, and coaching materials in regional languages compared to English.

Educationist R Rajan emphasized the need to *"create an environment where more Tamil medium students choose the Tamil question paper"* and called for improved quality study materials in regional languages. The decline has significant implications for government school students in states where regional languages remain the primary medium of instruction, potentially widening educational disparities.