NEW DELHI: Congress MP, Vincent H Pala has demanded that the two major languages of the state —Khasi and Garo — be included in the list of options of “Second Language” in the Central Board of Secondary Education.
Flagging the issue, Pala said in a letter to Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank that this privilege has been denied so long despite the fact that Khasi and Garo languages are the mode of communication (both verbal and written) for not only the indigenous residents of the state of Meghalaya but also for large sections of the inhabitants of other states in the North East who have Khasi and Garo ancestry.
Pala pointed out that languages like Tangkhul and Mizo spoken by much less number of people are included by the CBSE as second language. But Khasi and Garo languages used by more than thirty lakh people in the North East as well as neighbouring Bangladesh do not find a place in the list!
For this reason CBSE affiliated schools are not popular in Meghalaya even if it is the best board for appearing in the various competitive examinations, Pala said.
“I fervently request you to consider inclusion of Khasi and Garo language in the list of approved languages at the earliest so that the children of my state can receive the best of education,” the letter added.
