In a groundbreaking educational reformative initiative, the Assam Government will introduce school textbooks in tribal languages to bridge the gap and foster cultural preservation among indigenous communities in the State.
The initiative, under the leadership of Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, is set to begin with the upcoming school session and aims to provide textbooks in multiple tribal languages such as Mising, Deuri, Dimasa, Tiwa, and others.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will supply these textbooks.
This multilingual approach aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which supports for primary education to begin in the students’ mother tongues before transitioning to regional or English languages at the secondary school level.
This policy reflects an understanding of the cultural and linguistic plurality of Assam, where more than 55 languages are spoken, including dialects.
Assamese, which evolved from the middle Indo-Aryan Magadhi Prakrit and is related to many Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, remains the principal language of the State.
However, the government recognizes the importance of other tribal languages, such as Bodo, which is already approved as a medium of teaching, and others like Mising, Rabha, Dimasa, Deori, Khampti, Turung, Phake, that are used until the primary level.
Further, by incorporating tribal languages into the education system, Assam is taking a step towards inclusive education that respects and promotes the linguistic heritage of its indigenous populations.
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