Mother Tongue-based Literacy Programmes: Case Studies of Good ...

parents of the children studying in the ARP schools. During these discussions, many women raised theissue of learning for themselves, and expressed their interest in having such opportunities. Visitors sharedtheir experiences about the community learning centre (CLC) where villagers (both male and female)come to acquire or update their knowledge and skills for life and livelihood purposes. Knowing this,community members became so enthusiastic that they demanded such programmes in their villagesand requested UNESCO to help them in their pursuit of knowledge and occupational skills. Observingtheir keen interest and expectation, the team assured them that they would do whatever possible inorder to realize their hopes.Figure 3: Comparison with a Government SchoolGovt and arp school average3836343230282624222032.57130.17130.31 28.37Subjects36.85Series 1Series 226.79Language Math Environmental StudiesIt was, indeed, utter joy for the tribal people of Agholpur and Idolpur villages to see their dreams becomereality when, in July 2005, the CLC project, “Tribal Adolescents Development Programme (TADP)” waslaunched. This programme offered a mother tongue-based literacy programme to the villagers, andincluded skill training conducted in the Sadri language for adolescent girls, women and the communitypeople.Under the programme, the community members are now receiving literacy education in Sadri, training insubjects such as social awareness, reproductive health, fuel economy,, and high value crop cultivation.Following the training, many households are seeing considerable savings on firewood and have startedcultivation of vegetables that will give them a much higher return compared to rice cultivation.Achievement of ARPSince its beginning in October 2002, the ARP has attained considerable success in achieving its goals andobjectives. It has developed curricula and learning materials for the Oraon children in twelve schools.[ 46 ]