Inclusion of Naga tribal languages in schools and colleges

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n reference to the subject stated above, I have the honour to put up this suggestion/proposal for perusal and consideration, that in Nagaland the problem of not having a common language is a huge obstacle in the process of uniting and bringing the people closer to one another socially.Therefore, in this regard I would like to suggest a few of my opinions to let you formulate a policy for implementation of the same in the School Education and University by introducing an extra subject of Learning Different Naga Tribes Languages as a subject in educational institutions starting from Grade 3 to 15 (BA third years) which in turn may also create a lot of avenues for unemployed youths. The suggestion is stated below as to the implementation of the same:-
1. Recruit linguist teachers from all the tribes for every school, for example if the language of Ao’s is introduce in class 3, then in class 4 the language of Tenyidie can be introduce, in class 5 the language of Sema, in class 6 Lotha language can be introduce and so on till all the major dialects were included. The method of learning can be same for all the tribes for example a concise dictionary and a grammatical book such as short stories and mode of conversation will be suffice. The text books can be simply compiled by one’s own tribal language committees in consultation with the expert committees appointed by the government under one chairman.
2. The tribal language should not be an optional subject but should be a compulsory subject and must be inclusive of all the students no matter if he/she is from that linguist community or even non Nagas as the subject is only for one academic year.
3. The required lessons should be made as simple as possible by introducing simple dictionary which convert English to tribal dialects, conversing grammars, short stories etc. as one subject.
4. The linguist teacher should be basically trained and had experience enough to impart all the necessary technique to let the student assimilate the given dialect in a particular year.
5. The students can be taught to preserve his/her text books for future reference after passing out their subsequent grades.
6. In accordance with the present ratio at least 13 Naga tribe languages can be introduce and 13 languages can be learned by a successful student during his academic career.
7. The new system should be made mandatory not only for Government schools and colleges but also to all the private institutions as well.
8. In this system of introducing tribal languages in schools and colleges as an exclusive subject, the erstwhile system of using alternative English subject could be excluded.
9. The minimum qualification required for recruitment may be 10+2 onwards.
10. Finally the Government can form a separate Committee/Board for implementation of the program.
The above proposal/suggestions is only a personal opinion and may not reflect general opinion but if the same can be implemented, it will go a long way for all round social development and will definitely remove the drawbacks of language barriers and will unified different communities by bringing them closer to one another.

V Azo Nyekha
Concerned Citizen, Kohima