The problems identified were two-fold – many indigenous children who did not speak Bangla as their mother language were struggling to keep up in school, while others, because they were learning and writing solely in Bangla, were forgetting their mother tongue. As a result, the introduction of textbooks in indigenous languages were welcomed as a step in the right direction by all quarters. Learning in mother language is reducing dropout ratesAccording to the District Primary Education Office, 1,22,034 indigenous language textbooks have been distributed in Rangamati from 2017, and 723 teachers have been trained to teach in these mother tongues so far. Lack of training still a mountain to climbThis deficit in teachers’ training is far more obvious in Khagrachhari. “These children are still being left out of the education system,” shared Zahed Sarwar, head master at Nunarbil Government Primary School in Lama upazila, Bandarban.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 24, 2019 11:48 UTC