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Teachers, students threaten stir

BHUABNESWAR: The Association of Santali teachers and students of Mayurbhanj has threatened to stop functioning of the government schools operating in tribal belts in the district unless the government published study materials in Ol-Chiki, the language of the Santhalis that entered into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in recent years.

It has further warned to prohibit the government employees from entering into their territory if their genuine demand is ignored.

Association secretary S.Kisku told the media that teachers of about one hundred primary schools were trained in teaching in Ol-Chiki medium under the District Primary Education Project and Sarba Sikshya Abhiyan to commence teaching in the language during the current academic session. Besides, it was also decided to publish books in Ol-Chiki script for the session. “There is a move to publish the books in Oriya scripts for reasons best known to the officials,” he rued.

Mr. Kisku further alleged that three books published earlier in Ol-Chiki script have not been distributed among the schools that has raised suspicion among the Santali community about the intention of the authorities. The government must explain its stand on the issue immediately failing which it would remain responsible for the unrest among the tribal community, he warned.

Most of the tribal communities of the State have dialects but no scripts of their own. Hence the government has evolved a five-year plan to develop study materials for the school students in their languages using Oriya script, explained officials. At present, books for the students of standard one and two for nine tribal communities are being published under the Sarva Sikshya Abiyan scheme, they added. The communities are Bonda, Juanga, Oram, Munda, Kissan, Koya, Kui and Saura tribes besides Santal that has its own script. But they failed to explain why books are not being published in Ol-Chiki script despite its availability and decision at the government level.

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