Fifteen tribal language primers developed in Odisha after it faced extinction

Bhubaneswar, Aug 20 (UNI) The Ministry of Education (MoE) through NCERT in collaboration with Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru and Central University of Odisha, Koraput have developed and launched a total number of 117 primers including 89 tribal language primers, Minister of State for Education, Jayant Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today.

Of the 89 tribal language primers, 15 are from Odisha. There are primers in 15 languages of Odisha (Desia, Kuwi, Gadaba (Gutob), Juang, Kui, Kisan, Santhali (Odia), Savara (Sora), Gondi-Odia, Ho-Odia, Odia, Kandha (Khond), Malto, Munda, Parji (Durua)). Besides, Joyful Mathematics of Class 1 and Class 2 have also been translated into Santhali and Bodo, the Minister said.

These are languages spoken by at least 10,000 populations. These primers are designed to support multilingualism and utilize children’s mother tongue as a medium of instruction, aligning with the NEP-2020.
Tribal language primers are educational materials developed to support the preservation and teaching of indigenous languages, often used in early childhood education.
Education in the mother tongues of learners during the formative years is one major goal of the NEP 2020 and the NCF-FS & National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE)
2023, the Minister said in the reply.

Besides, the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education has launched a National Mission called “National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)” on July 5, 2021 for ensuring that every child in the country (including all district of Odisha) necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 2.
This Mission has been set up under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha- an integrated scheme for School Education. Under Samagra Shiksha scheme, education
is imparted with equitable access to the highest-quality education for all learners regardless of social or economic background, the Minister added in the written reply.