BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to strengthen mother tongue-based multilingual education (MLE) in schools for tribal and SC students, the state government has given its nod for the creation of 200 more teacher posts.
This takes the total number of MLE teachers in schools governed by the ST and SC Development Department to 300. The move, officials of the department said, will positively impact the educational landscape in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Sambalpur, Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj districts.
The state government has also increased the number of languages covered under multilingual education in such schools. Previously, the MLE programme covered 10 tribal languages but with the addition of Bhuyan, Sadri, Mundari, Gadaba, Desia and Ho, it now encompasses a total of 16. The expansion aligns with the state’s vision to preserve and revive tribal languages, fostering cultural heritage and inclusivity, said secretary-cum-commissioner of the department Roopa Roshan Sahoo.
In the present language transition plan under the multilingual education programme, the child learns his mother tongue first (Class I to Class III) and Odia is introduced gradually as a second language in Class IV and English as a third language in both Classes IV and V. In both classes, Odia is the language subject for the students. Meanwhile, the department is also working on formulating a revised draft policy on MLE. The policy will address the language issues and take forward the research and PG studies on different tribal languages.