You shouldn’t be shocked if the next time you meet a young Bihar Mahadalit( the downtrodden) who greets you with a good morning instead of a traditional salutation- Namaste!
These youths are in fact undergoing the first ever Spoken English skills Development Project sponsored by the Government of Bihar and implemented by British Lingua, an institute of national repute working in the field of spoken English and soft skills development in the country.
The Spoken English project is designed exclusively for the Mahadalit youths, the poorest of the poor of the state in order to raise their employability skills and life styles under the dynamic leadership of Nitish Kumar who has launched several schemes for this particular community who has been a victim of neglect and deprivation . The move hints at social engineering and balancing . Moreover, the community plays a vital role in vote bank politics of Nitish Kumar . Mahadalit community consisting of 21 catstes long known for their social deprivation and backwardness was carved out by Kumar a few years ago.
Sri Shiv Bhushan Thakur, Regional Development Officer, Darbhanga Division, expressed his pleasure over the remarkable progress made in the English skills of the participants while inspecting the on- going pilot project.
“You have proved your determination and learning abilities in English which will enable you to compete with those in other more privileged communities” added Mr Thakur while interacting with the group of students learning English in the district of Madhubani.
The young participants were visibly moved by and grateful for the officer’s comments.
The District Welfare Officer, madhuabi Mr Dilendra Kumar stated “It is very rewarding for us to see how these Mahadalit youths have begun to take advantage of the opportunity to learn spoken English skills. This initiative will of course provide greater equality between the haves and have- nots”
“I had never thought that I too would be able to communicate myself in English one day. I’m grateful to both British Lingua and Government of Bihar for their role in providing me with an opportunity of obtaining English Skills” said Tulshi Rani, one of the trainees.
“Now I can hold a conversation in English and feel that I’m on a par with those in more advanced communities” said Suresh Mahto, yet another participant.
British Lingua project Director Group Captain I B Thakur averred “I’m most gratified to see these Mahadalit youths holding a conversation in the Queen’s language. Our aim seems to have been seemingly realized through the project. We embarked on a journey in 1993, with a mission to take English to the lowest strata of society”.
“Our effort has been to ensure that the advantage of English reaches the poorest of the poor in society”, added Thakur.
The three month long pilot project kicked off two months ago with a group of 80 students in a district split into two equal groups.
The pilot projects done by British Lingua include:1. Patna 2.Vaishali 3.Muzaffarpur 4.Darbhanga 5.Samastipur 6. Madhubani 7.Sitamarhi
The training module offers four hour class daily except Sunday. These are divided into four equal sessions- sentence formation, group discussion, language activities and feedback. The structural-cum-interactive method adopted in the programme was developed by British Lingua’s think tank and has proved highly successful in imparting practical and easy to follow ways of using English in a variety of contexts. The methodology is suitable for people of all standards and has made British Lingua a well known and respected training institute for its high success rates.
Each of the trainees was provided with a study kit which includes a set of six books, most notably the best seller ‘Spoken English Kit’ by Dr Birbal Jha.
Dr Jha is a noted author and the Managing Director of British Lingua which tied up with the Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission, a commission of the Government of Bihar for the project.
Exact copy from the message shared by: Chandan Yadav
Produced by MithilanchalGroup
