Manoj
Chaurasia in Patna
For the
first time, Mahadalit youths in Bihar are being provided with an opportunity to
learn spoken English. This exclusive project for them aims at bettering their
skills, which should help them in getting good jobs, and consequently raising
their standard of living.
Mahadalits, the poorest of the poor in the society, constitute
around 15 per cent of the state’s total population, and they play a significant
role in politics and formation of the government.
The background to this huge step forward in the social uplifting
of Mahadalits, stems from a range of initiatives put in place for this
particular community by the Nitish Kumar government.
The latest project is a collaboration between the Bihar Mahadalit
Vikas Mission, a commission of the government of Bihar and British Lingua, a
training institute of national repute in the field of English skills and
capacity building. The training module offers four-hour daily classes except on
Sundays.
These are
divided into four equal sessions ~ sentence formation, group discussion,
language activities and feedback. The structural-cum-interactive method adopted
in the programme was developed by British Lingua and has proved highly
successful in imparting practical and easy-to-follow ways of using English in a
variety of contexts.
Bihar’s deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the NDA was
committed to raising the Mahadalit community out of its downtrodden position,
and bringing it to the main stream of society, while Mr Vidyanand Vikal,
chairman of the Bihar State Commission for Scheduled Castes, who visited and
interacted with the Mahadalit youths said: "I am more than happy to see
these youths who are generally more comfortable speaking their own regional language,
quite at par with those who can speak fluent English. It is no less than a
miracle to see their improvement in such a short space of time”.
British Lingua’s project director group captain I B Thakur said he
was most gratified to see the Mahadalit youths holding conversations in
English.
Words of praise for the scheme have also come from the trainees.
“I had never thought that I too would be able to communicate in English one
day. I'm grateful to both the British Lingua and the government of Bihar for
their role in providing me with an opportunity of obtaining English Skills,”
said Tulshi Rani, a student. “Now I can hold conversations in English and feel
that I'm at par with those belonging to the advanced communities,” said Suresh
Mahto, another student.
Mr Birbal Jha, Managing Director, British Lingua, said: “By taking
English skills to the grassroots of society, we can instill a sense of worth in
its members. They can benefit from knowledge of the English language as it
brings parity and removes the divisions within society that hold certain
sections back simply because of their ancestry.” Mr Jha, quoting Mahatma Gandhi
said: “One small step leads to another and soon you have a journey”.
With Bihar taking its place as a meeting point for new investment,
where English is the language of business, both nationally and internationally,
the barriers are being broken down by integrating English into the lives of the
state’s most downtrodden section of society.
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