Kerala - Thrissur   

Basic education should be in mother tongue: educationist

Thrissur: Anita Rampal, Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University, has called for promoting basic education in the student's mother tongue.

Addressing the All-India People's Science Congress here on Thursday, Ms. Rampal said that studies have proved that students in native language medium schools excelled in studies than their counterparts in foreign language medium schools.

In an education system with full of inequities, language could also be an obstacle that comes in the way of learning, she said.

She stressed the need for a native language policy, where children are encouraged to learn in their mother tongue.

At the science congress, social exclusion of women and the marginalised were highlighted as crucial issues confronting the society.

Presenting a paper on ‘problems of development and identity politics' in a sub-congress, Archana Prasad of the Delhi Science Forum, said that though efforts were made for social inclusion of Dalits, Adivasis and the poor through various policies during the Nehruvian era, the situation has turned upside down now.

“The process of social exclusion has diverse perspectives. Caste, money and gender have again started playing different roles in social exclusion,” she said.

Fight against gender discrimination should begin from families, said social activist T.K. Anandi.

“Social exclusion mainly happens on the basis of gender. Women are discriminated at homes, offices and in society.”

All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) general secretary Sudha Sundararaman said that corporate interests had started intervening in the very essence of micro finance institutions, which were introduced with a purpose of helping rural women in their struggles.

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