NEP: What about Maithili medium schools in Bihar, asks cultural organisation

Despite primary education in mother tongue being a salient feature of the new National Education Policy 2020, there are no Maithili medium primary schools even in Bihar even in areas where the language is widely spoken.

The issue has been raised by Chetna Samiti, a socio-cultural organisation of Maithils which has reached out to education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, demanding that primary schools in Maithili medium be developed in the region including Darbhanga and Madhubani districts, and that study material and books also be prepared for imparting education in the language.

The group also met up here on Sunday.

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Maithili has the privilege of being a part of the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. “It’s an honour for the language to be among those in the 8th Schedule, but that’s not enough for a language to survive and sustain,” Umesh Mishra, the Chetna Samiti secretary, said.

“Even in many Maithili-speaking families, children who are studying in English medium schools are not eager to use it. To keep the mother tongue alive, we need special efforts,” he said. He said that Maithils have been demanding primary schools in Maithili medium for long.

Vivekanand Jha, the Chetna Samiti president, said teachers for these institutions should be appointed from Maithili-speaking population. “And preparations should also be made for the texts for these schools,” he added. The education minister was not available to comment.