Staff Reporter
Guwahati: An innovative step has been taken by the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) for the better education of the Bodo youth living outside the BTR. As part of this initiative, ABSU is going to open Bodo language learning centres in 10 districts of the state.
ABSU has already appointed 29 teachers for the Bodo language learning centres being set up. The teachers were appointed through a comprehensive selection process comprising evaluation, interviews, etc. The districts where the centres are being set up are Charaideo, Hojai, Dibrugarh, Sonitpur, Golaghat, Kamrup, Nagaon, Lakhimpur, Kamrup (Metro), and Biswanath.
The population of Bodo people in the state is around 15 lakh, comprising 4.5% of the total population in the state. Bodo is the official language in BTR. It is one of the 22nd languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution of India.
ABSU president Dipen Boro explained the reasons for setting up the centres to The Sentinel, saying, “There are many Bodo youths outside the BTR who are not able to speak the Bodo language correctly or to write it. We want every Bodo youth to be able to speak and write the Bodo language correctly. Bodo people residing outside the BTR have been requesting that we take appropriate measures to ensure that their children are able to speak and write their mother tongue correctly. That is why we are setting up these language centres for the Bodo youth.”
Boro further said that they were concerned about the situation and the future ramifications for their community if future generations are not fully conversant with their own mother tongue. He said, “In areas outside the BTR, it seems that there is an absence of a proper atmosphere for Bodo youths to practice speaking their language frequently. This may have given rise to the prevailing situation. There is a vast difference between spoken and written language.
Many in these areas can speak the language fluently, but they are unable to write it correctly. Even the students in Bodo medium schools are not able to speak Bodo words correctly.”
“Keeping all these things in mind, we are going to open Bodo language learning centres in districts apart from the BTR, and we have already appointed 29 teachers for this purpose yesterday. In the future, we will increase the number of centres according to need. I think this initiative will have a positive effect on the Bodo community as a whole,” he added.
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