Classes 1, 2 students to learn regional dialects

MUMBAI: Students in Classes 1 and 2 in government-aided schools in Maharashtra, who speak regional dialects and tongues, will learn the languages in schools from this month.

The state school education department has asked schools to teach these dialects, or boli bhasha, to students depending on the region. Many of these regional dialects and languages like Warli, Malvani, Ahirani, Warhadi and Sangameshwari are regional languages and dialects while Korku, Gondi, Nihali and Pardhi are spoken by tribal communities. Many, like Nihali, are spoken only by a few thousand people and are endangered.

Children speak regional languages or dialects at home but study a different language or a standard version of their language in school. This creates a gap in learning as students are not able to understand exactly what the teacher is saying, said education officials.

To bridge this gap, special classes in the boli bhasha for students will be held in schools by the end of this month. In these classes, along with the syllabus, students will be taught stories, poems, information on regional festivals, games among others.

The initiative aims in bringing down the language barrier between students and teachers, said officials.

“Students in rural areas will benefit if they are taught these regional languages and

dialects in school in classes 1 and 2. It will also keep them from dropping out of school. We need the help of teachers for this, they need to learn these languages,” said Shivaji Pandhare, joint-director, Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT).

MSCERT is preparing teaching and learning material in 10 languages and dialects from 16 regions of the state. This includes Agri, Khandeshi leva, Warli, Malvani, Ahirani, Powari, Warhadi and others. In case of dialects, MSCERT has prepared the material using the Devnagri script.

Teachers have been asked to prepare lessons in these languages depending on the area that the school is located in. “We will provide them with the teaching material but besides that teachers can also plan games, quizzes and other methods to make the lessons interesting,” said Pandhare.

Officials said that even English medium schools are free to use these materials and teach the languages to the students. “We have asked government aided schools especially Marathi-medium schools to take up this initiative,” said Nand Kumar, principal secretary of the state school education department. “But other schools can also hold these lessons if they want, they can approach MSCERT for the teaching-learning material.”