Basic edu dept to introduce dictionary of regional dialects

Prayagraj: With the aim of conserving the regional dialects of the state, the Uttar Pradesh basic education department would soon be releasing a unique dictionary of local dialects of prominent regions of the state. The first-of-its kind dictionary will have words in region-specific languages like Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj, and Bundelkhandi etc.
The move, which has been taken in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, is aimed at conserving regional dialects of the Hindi heartland and using them to better educate school kids.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has entrusted responsibility of coming out with a dictionary to Prayagraj State Institute of Education, Allenganj, said officials of the state basic education department. They added that teachers from different regions posted in primary and upper primary schools spread across the state will be able to explain the topics and the subjects better to the enrolled students in their own local dialects using the dictionary.
“This will not only encourage the conservation of these dialects but also help in removing linguistic barriers. This will help teachers and students of government-run primary and upper primary schools of the UP Basic Education Council. The students would be able to better grasp the topics when teachers explain them in a language the children speak and understand better than Hindi and English,” said principal of State Institute of Education, Naval Kishore. The principal added that the order to develop a dictionary of regional dialects has been received.
To this end, a workshop will soon be organised in which subject and dialect experts from across the state will be invited to suggest ways to proceed ahead with the mission and identify words that are to be included in the proposed dictionary, he said.
At present, 1.8 crore students are studying at 1.68 lakh government primary and upper primary schools spread across 75 districts of the state and over 5 lakh teachers are employed in these schools. It is worth mentioning that NEP-2020 emphasises the importance of local languages to bridge the language gap between a child’s home language and the language of instruction. The policy emphasises quality recruitment and overall teacher development for students of Classes 5 to 8 who will be learning their native language. NEP-2020 relies heavily on teachers in schools. Teachers’ skill levels, particularly in primary schools, are a significant concern when implementing NEP-2020, explained the official.