Make Khasi compulsory

SHILLONG, APR 18: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) on Monday demanded that the state government make Khasi as a compulsory subject at the higher secondary level of education from next academic year.

A delegation of the HYC central body met the MBOSE chairman EP Kharbhih to seek his intervention into the issue on Monday following an RTI which revealed poor percentage of students taking Khasi as a subject.

“We demand the state government to consider making Khasi as a compulsory subject from the next academic year,” HYC general secretary Robertjune Kharjahrin told reporters after the meeting.

He said as per RTI from the board, the percentage of students taking Khasi (MIL) as a subject is very poor especially in urban areas besides there are even schools which registered ‘nil’ percentage.

While referring to the students studying in standard XI & XII as juveniles, Kharjahrin said, “The decision whether to retain Khasi as compulsory subject cannot be left to juveniles. The board should consider making it compulsory from next year.”

He also informed that the board had expressed that it wanted to introduce more subjects but instead is reducing the number of subjects from 6 to 5, which is surprisingly unreasonable.

When asked, Kharjahrin informed that the chairman of the board had assured the delegation that the issue would be placed before the review committee and accordingly proposed to the state government for consideration.

With regards to the RTI that portrays a sorry state of affairs in promoting Khasi as an official language, the HYC general secretary said, “The board has assured and sought time to conduct an inquiry into the issue to find out the cause.”

Meanwhile, the HYC also demanded the board to pass an order directing all schools in the region to make it mandatory to sing the Khasi patriotic song – “Ri Khasi” at least twice a week.

Apart from this, the council also sought to include in the school syllabus about the history of Khasis during the pre-British rule, British ear and Khasi during India’s Independence.

“If we are made to study the history of others we feel we have every right to demand that our school syllabus should also include the history of our own tribe,” he said adding this would strengthen the indigenous community and its language.

He informed that the board has assured to take up the issue with the Syllabus Review Committee while agreeing to write to state government to consider on singing the patriotic song in the school assemblies.-By Our Reporter