SHILLONG: The issue of non-inclusion of Khasi language in the Eight Schedule and the need for Districts Councils to take back primary education from the state government dominated the KHADC session on Friday.
During the question hour, Executive Member in charge of Education, Martle Mukhim, said that there are no plans to enhance the grant-in-aid to lower primary schools for the time being.
Congress MDC Balajied Ranee asked whether the EC had any intention to bring back primary education under its fold. To this, Mukhim said that there was an agitation in the 80s by different pressure groups to force the state government to take over primary education from the district council.
Clarifying Mukhim, he said, “The thought of doing away with primary education is not there”. He maintained that in the 5-6 months, the council had been facing political and financial instability.
He further said that the executive committee will find out ways and means for getting back primary education from the administrative control of the state government.
Congress Member Ronnie Lyngdoh took objection to the criticism made by HSPDP MDC Martle Mukhim in a section of the press where he criticised the Congress for forcibly taking over the Lower Primary Education from the District Council.
Highlighting the sorry state of affairs of education in rural and sub-urban areas, Lyngdoh said that there are class X students in 12th Mile Upper Shillong who pronounced ‘there’ as ‘the-re’. His niece, who is a school teacher, was in a fix whether to teach the students English or other subject, he lamented.
Another Congress MLA Charles Marngar said the Khasi language is being neglected as most of the people use ‘f’ though the Khasi alphabet does not have the letter ‘f’.
“We have started using ‘fa’ instead of ‘pha’, Laitflang instead of Laitphlang”, he said, adding that Khasi subject should be made compulsory in every school in the state.
Deep conspiracy
Veteran politician and nominated MDC Bindo Lanong spoke of a “deep conspiracy” of the Sahitya Akademi expert committee that visited the state in 1977, 1985 and 1988. He mentioned that the Khasi language was recognized as a language at the degree level by Kolkata University in 1919.
An irked Lanong said the Sahitya Akademi informed the state government in 2001 that there are too many languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, he was surprised to know that there are three languages incorporated in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 2003.
“Is it not that the Khasi language is being looked down upon? In the 92nd amendment the languages of Bodo, Dogri, Maithali and Santhali were incorporated but not Khasi. Why are we ignored? It is because we are tribals?” he questioned rather emotionally.