Odisha to teach indigenous culture and knowledge along with languages to tribal children
Odisha is often ahead of the game in comparison with other states when it comes to Multilingual Education. That is no surprise, given the heavy investment in that state by people like Prof D. P. Pattanayak, Prof Ajit Mohanty, and Dr Mahendra Mishra! It is good to note that, in the latest initiative, attention is given not only to the language , but also to the relevance of the content for the children. The New Indian Express reports that tribal children in Odisha will be taught their indigenous knowledge systems such as their indigenous rituals, cropping methods, and much more along with their mother tongue. The multilingual approach will include their indigenous language along with the state language, Odia. These two initiatives come from the Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department under the guidance of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 . P. Patel from the Academy of Tribal Languages and Culture (ATLC)