Wansuk wants greater emphasis on local languages

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Wansuk Syiem on Wednesday drew the House’s attention to the growing voice of the youths and students of the North East who are opposed to domination of Hindi language instead of English in the new National Education Policy (NEP), and added that the move will harm the interest of the region.
Raising the matter in the Upper House, Wansuk said student organisations in Meghalaya and other NE states have already come out in opposition to this move since it will put the mostly English speaking region in a position of peril. Local languages and dialects should be given the same level of attention that Hindi gets, she added.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), a confederation of eight student bodies of the region, had earlier urged the Centre to consider the diversity of the region before finalising the National Education Policy. NESO had also demanded that regional languages be accorded due importance by including them in the Eighth Schedule.
The draft NEP was revised in June following protests in various parts of the country, including in NE, over fears that Hindi was being imposed on non-Hindi states through the education policy. The National Education Policy should not be implemented in haste and states should be allowed to prepare the roadmaps for the different sectors after consulting the stakeholders and working out the required finances, Wansuk demanded.
The new education policy should take into account the diverse socio-economic conditions in remote areas. More time will give an opportunity to the stake holders to give proper thought to such serious issue, Wansuk said.