BHUBANESWAR: The State government has decided to take up the matter of excluding study materials in Odia language from Swayam portal with the Union Ministry of Education (MoE).
A day after TNIE published a report on the issue, State Minister of Electronics and IT Tusharkanti Behera expressed concern over exclusion of Odia language and said the matter will be brought to the knowledge of the Education Ministry. Under no circumstances, the future of Odia students will be compromised, he said.
“Decision of MoE on the recommendation of AICTE not to translate study materials on Swayam platform into Odia language is unfortunate and unjust. Centre’s move has deprived lakhs of Odia students from accessing good quality education materials that are available free of cost”, he said, adding that with the vision of the Chief Minister, rural Odisha is now well connected with the internet to facilitate online education.
He further said that in terms of IT, Odisha is now one of the leading states in the country and Odias have proven their position within India and abroad in various fields. Behera said he will write to the MoE to reconsider its decision in the interest of lakhs of Odia students.
Union Minister Ramesh Nishankh Pokhriyal had announced last year that courses in science, engineering and pharmacy at both UG and PG level offered on Swayam platform will be translated into 10 regional languages including Odia. But the plan for preparing study materials in Odia was dropped this year as AICTE did not find it feasible.