MP wants Kokborok in school syllabi

AGARTALA: Lok Sabha MP from Tripura East, Rebati Tripura, on Saturday, met Union minister of state for tribal affairs Renuka Singh to discuss a plan to introduce Kokborok as a subject in the CBSE and ICSE curriculum.
To speed things up, he demanded one-time relaxation of recruitment norms of teachers for the Kokborok subject in schools, colleges and universities. In a memorandum submitted to the minister, Tripura referred to several demands raised by the Kokborok Phuarnai Bodol, an organization working for the development of the language.The society demanded one-time relaxation for the recruitment of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate teachers for the Kokborok subject in schools up to Class XII. "Tribal students start out with Kokborok but have to switch to Bengali from Class VI. This becomes a major impediment for them. There are only 120 schools that teach in Kokborok all through Class I to XII. This is why the rate of enrolment of tribal students in schools located in the hilly interiors has fallen sharply," Rebati said. Support for the language had been one of BJP's poll promises in the run-up to the assembly election in 2018.