Bhubaneswar, Oct. 9: Five-year-old Jhili had stopped going to the local anganwadi centre a year ago because the teachers there spoke and taught in a language alien to her.

When the girl from a tribal village in Rayagada district recently heard her friend Geeta singing in her mother tongue, Kui, she was intrigued.

Upon enquiring, she found out that Ebani didi, a teacher at the childcare centre in her village, had been imparting education in Kui. Excited, Jhili began to learn the song when the teacher called a meeting of the villagers to say that early education in one’s native language laid the foundation for better learning.

This story on language handicap in primary education — true of most tribal children in Odisha — has been made into a five-minute animation movie titled Ganugan Bati Ahangna (Learning with dignity) that was released here today.

It is an initiative of the Odisha Adivasi Manch, a tribal people’s network, and a few other voluntary organisations, especially the Bernard Van Leer Foundation, which is campaigning for mother tongue-based early childhood education in tribal districts of the state.

Most tribal children do not get early education in their mother tongue, which leads to poor performance at higher stages of learning, said Ido Mandal, state convenor of the Odisha Adivasi Manch. “Consequently, they drop out of school and lag behind,” he said.

Statistics available with the manch indicate that Odisha has the third largest tribal population in the country, with 1.4 million children in the age group of 0-6 years. Though 77 per cent of the tribal children attend government-run anganwadi centres, the increasing dropout rates and low literacy levels are the result of not having a mother tongue-based education system. While 69.7 per cent of these children are enrolled in primary school, only 24.3 per cent completed their primary education despite attractive programmes such as mid-day meal, interactive education and learn with fun. Education in an unfamiliar language does not evoke any interest in the children for school, said Mandal.

Recently, chief secretary B.K. Patnaik ordered that all tribal children would study in their mother tongue up to Class III. The manch has been demanding a state policy on mother tongue-based pre-school education in tribal areas, appointment of tribal anganwadi workers, proper infrastructure and culture-based curriculum, among others.

Dharitri Patnaik of the Bernard Van Leer Foundation says anganwadi centres, which are mostly located in revenue villages, must also be spread across tribal hamlets for children to get easier access to quality early childhood education.

Former hockey player and MP Dilip Tirkey today released the movie here. On the occasion, he also spoke about language barriers in schools of tribal areas.

“If children are taught in their native language during the crucial phase of 0-5 years, it would go a long way in ensuring that they not only do well in life, but also keep their customs and traditions alive,” says Tirkey.