Pradhan stated on Nov 19 at a programme held on the premises of the Eastern Regional Languages Centre in Bhubaneswar that it has been suggested in the National Education Policy that primary education to children during the initial period should be imparted in their local dialects until class 8th, at the very least until class 5th.
"If the children learn and write in the same language that it hears and speaks in its early days, then the child's ability to use logic, express thought and do analysis will develop significantly," Pradhan said.
The minister said that Odia children can become great men like Madhusudan Das, Sarala Das and Pathani Samanta if they receive education in their own native dialect. He urged the state government to implement the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme in Odisha.
Pradhan also stated that he has proposed to the Central Institute of Indian Languages to hold special programmes such as debate and essay competitions at the school and college levels in December in order to make Odia popular and acceptable among the new generation. He stated that the country has been commemorating Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas, the birth anniversary of Tamil poet and freedom fighter Subramania Bharati. The celebration began on September 28 and will last until December 11.
Pradhan claims that the dialects spoken in Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, and Dhenkanal are very sweet. In the presence of the union minister, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore, and NCERT, New Delhi to conduct language research.
