Primary education in 18 local dialects soon in tribal areas of Chhattisgarh

NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government will soon include local languages and dialects in primary education in the state’s tribal areas in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), an official statement said on Sunday. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has directed the education department to develop and distribute bilingual books in 18 local languages and dialects for the initiative, it said.

Its objective is to increase the access and quality of education in tribal communities so that children can receive education in their mother tongue and stay connected with their culture, it said.

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. During an event to mark ‘Shala Pravesh Utsav’ (school admission fest) on July 5, CM Sai had said that textbooks and teaching material would be translated into local dialects and teachers would 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. Pardeshi said, “In the first phase, courses will be prepared in Chhattisgarhi, Sargujiha, Halbi, Sadari, Gondi and Kudukh.

For this, the help of litterateurs, folk artists and compilers from across the state will be taken. Apart from this, cooperation will also be taken from senior citizens and teachers.” Principal of High School Bagia, Dinesh Sharma, praised the move and said tribal children have talents.

Education in the local dialect will give more and more children of tribal areas a chance to move forward, he said. As per the three-language formula in NEP 2020, 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. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel had made a similar announcement in January 2020.