Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

Present Status of the Action Research Project
As was mentioned earlier, one pilot school was opened in February 2003 in Agholpur village, which
is now fully operational with 26 students who are now in Class II. Second year materials have
been developed for class testing, and these will be reviewed before being finalized. Another pilot
school opened in January 2004 in Edolpur Oraon village, where 35 children are in Class I, learning
in the Sadri language.
10. Challenges of the Project and Possible Solutions
When the project was launched, there were questions regarding the best writing system to select
so that learners could read and write in their mother tongue. The language has no previous alphabet.
Christian missionary attempts at introducing the Roman alphabet proved unsuccessful because it
was not culturally appropriate for the community.
Leaders of the Oraon community came to realize that the Bangla alphabet could be more accessible
and useful for them. The ASHRAI Research Team concurred with their opinion. In order to promote
mass education among the Oraon, the ARP Team devised a method of using the Bangla alphabet
to write the Sadri language so that Sadri speakers could enjoy studies in their mother language.
The development of an appropriate writing system was one of the problems encountered during
materials development.
The Oraon mainly use two colloquial dialects – Sadri and Kuruk. Kuruk has emerged from the
Dravir language group. This language is very complex. Sadri, on the other hand, is a popular
language among the working people of the Oraon community. Sadri is rich with words from the
Bangla, Urdu and Persian languages. Kuruk is purely an indigenous language. Thus, dialect selection
for the development of language materials was a challenge. As Sadri is the most used vernacular
of the Oraon of Northwest part of Bangladesh, the research team selected Sadri.
The teacher from the tribal community who was recruited for our pilot school had no teaching
experience. However, qualified teachers are rarely found in the tribal communities. To overcome
this weakness, we conducted monthly refresher training to enhance her teaching skills.
11. Future Plans
Partnerships between various stakeholders
ASHRAI has partnerships with various stakeholders to support indigenous communities through
education and training. We have partnerships with the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC) in non-formal child and adult education in order to develop the human resources
of indigenous people. In addition, we have also developed partnerships with UNESCO, BRAC
and NETZ (Germany) in non-formal primary education. Finally, we have a plan to work more
closely with ActionAid Bangladesh in adult education. Our partners provide both technical and
financial assistance to improve the standard of non-formal education for indigenous people.
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