Raipur
The Vishnu Deo Sai government in Chhattisgarh has taken an initiative to include local language and dialects in the primary education curriculum to provide inclusive and quality education soon.
The Chief Minister has directed the Education Department to develop and distribute bilingual books in 18 local languages and dialects, and also laid special emphasis on vocational education to enhance skill development programs in these areas.
The initiative is a part of the broader vision under NEP 2020 to make education more inclusive and accessible to children in their native languages, officials said adding this includes the introduction of the Sadi language for primary education in Jashpur district.
The objective of the CM’s direction is to increase the access and quality of education in tribal communities so that children can get education in their mother tongue and stay connected with their culture, the officials maintained.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of primary education in local languages and said that this will improve the understanding and learning process of children.
The three language formula in NEP 2020 states that every student in India should learn three languages: two of which should be native Indian languages, including one regional language, and the third should be English. The formula is applicable to both government and private schools, and the medium of instruction can be any of the three languages.
The primary aim of the three language formula is to promote multilingualism in India and enable students to communicate effectively across the country. It also aims to strengthen national integration by exposing students to different cultures and languages and fostering respect for linguistic diversity.
Addressing the Shala Praveshotsav, celebrated every year in the State at the beginning of the new academic session to encourage children towards education and motivate them to enrol in school, the Chief Minister said the initiative will also be helpful in preserving local culture and traditions.
The academic session for the year 2024-25 started on June 26 in Chhattisgarh.The State level Shala Praveshotsav was inaugurated on July 5 in Bagiya village of Jashpur, a remote tribal district of Chhattisgarh, showing the Sai government’s commitment to provide quality education to the remote corners of the state.
He said that textbooks and teaching material will be translated into local dialects and teachers will also be trained in these languages under the initiative.
School Education Secretary Siddharth Komal Pardeshi said that books for school children are being prepared in 18 local languages and dialects in Chhattisgarh.
“In the first phase, courses will be prepared in Chhattisgarhi, Sargujiha, Halbi, Sadari, Gondi and Kudukh. The help of litterateurs, folk artists, compilers from across the state will be taken. Apart from this, cooperation will also be taken from senior citizens and teachers,” Pardeshi said.
The Chief Minister interacted with the students developing robotics models in the Atal Tinkering Lab of the government school of Jashpur; participated in prevocational activities by making clay pots with the students and announced the conduct of summer camps every year in government schools and two board examinations from this year for the students of class 10th and 12th. Sai further said that under PM Shri, 211 schools are being developed as model schools in the first phase in the state.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had made a similar announcement in January 2020 that local Chhattisgarhi language and different dialects will be made the medium of instruction in primary schools across Chhattisgarh from the next academic session.
Later in September 2022, Baghel had again announced that students in government schools will be taught in the local language Chhattisgarhi and tribal dialects once a week. However, things didn’t materialise on ground.
