Tirkey releases film on tribal kids education

BHUBANESWAR: Former captain of Indian hockey team and MP Dillip Tirkey released an animation film here on Tuesday. The film, ‘Ganugun Bati Ahangna’ (Learning with dignity) tells the story of a five-year-old tribal girl, Jhilli. The movie aims at sensitizing tribals on early childhood education in mother tongue.

Speaking on the occasion, Tirkey said, “It is very important for tribal children to have their early childhood education in their mother tongue. This will help preservation of tribal culture and heritage and will also make tribal children more confident.”

The state convener of Odisha Adivasi Manch, Ido Mandal, said only early education in mother tongue could solve the problem of illiteracy among tribals in the state. “Odisha has the third largest concentration of tribals in the country. Yet, it has a literacy rate of 37 per cent only, in comparison to 63 per cent all over the country. We are happy that the problem is being noticed and people are able to understand the tribal child’s rights to get early education in their mother tongue. This will give tribal kids a firm social footing.”