Unesco has in its “Bhasha Matters” report praised Kerala’s projects aimed at spreading its mother tongue, Malayalam, and tribal languages.
The “talking pen” used by the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) in Malappuram district has also found a place in the report.
The strides made by Kerala’s education sector have found a special place in the latest report by Unesco on the “State of the Education Report for India 2025” under Bhasha Matters — Mother Tongue and Multilingual Education.
The talking pen was launched in Malappuram by the JSS under the Vidya programme. V. Ummerkoya, JSS director, Malappuram, told The Telegraph: “The talking pen project was implemented during 2015-17 in the Nilambur tribal sector as a pilot initiative, which saw 410 tribals, including 370 women, benefitting from it.
“These pens read printed Malayalam text aloud in the tribal language Paniya, allowing learners to hear and recognise alphabets and words. From 2018, it was developed into a sustainable development livelihood project, which enabled the 410 people to use their knowledge attained in completing application forms.”
Apart from Malappuram, the JSS has been launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts. However, only Malappuram has seen the talking pen project being implemented under the aegis of Rajya Sabha member P.V. Abdul Wahab.
The project cost just ₹2 lakh, but the authorities ensured that the tribals who benefited from the talking pen project were provided food during training.
