ABSU & BSS express resentment over English questions in Gunotsav

Bodo-medium students stay away in Gunotsav

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS) and the All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU) expressed strong resentment over the use of English in the question papers of Mathematics and Science subjects of class VI Bodo medium students in the ongoing Gunotsav-2024.

The Bodo-medium students stayed away from the ongoing first phase of Gunotsav on Saturday, protesting the use of English in the question papers instead of using their mother tongue.

The ABSU and BSS strongly criticized and opposed the assessment with English question papers in Mathematics and Science subjects for class VI in the Bodo medium school in the ongoing Gunotsav-2024. Whereas the Assam Government decided to introduce Mathematics and Science textbooks for class VI in the vernacular medium instead of the English medium, the BSS and ABSU strongly opposed the proposal to introduce English in Mathematics and Science for class VI in the Bodo medium. On August 29, 2023, after discussing the matter with the Chief Minister and Education Minister of Assam, they resolved and approved the use of bilingual English and the mother tongue (Bodo).

In a joint statement, the general secretaries of BSS and ABSU, Nilo Kanta Goyary and Khanindra Basumatary, respectively, said that the government of Assam should continue to impart students with old textbooks and conduct examinations until the new textbooks for class VI in the Bodo medium are published. This is because the NEP-2020 in the country emphasized mother tongue and providing value and quality education to students through mother tongue, they said. However, they noticed that the Government of Assam had taken a decision in contradiction to NEP-2020 and used English in the question papers in Bodo medium. The BSS and ABSU questioned the government about whether the current Gunotsav-2024 was really a festival for language use or quality assessment. "In this case, the entire allegation goes to the MD of the SAMOGRA SIKSHA. As we know, these two subjects or class-VI questions have already been translated into the mother tongue (Bodo), but all have been changed because of Om Prakash, IAS, the MD of SAMOGRA SIKSHA," they said.

The BSS and the ABSU jointly raised their strong demand before the Government of Assam that the assessment for Mathematics and Science examinations for class VI should be withdrawn immediately and the question paper for the upcoming class VI Mathematics and Science subjects must be in Bodo/English/Assamese/Bengali.

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