Nanda Bahadur Gelang, chairperson of the Indigenous Nationalities Journalists´ Association of Surkhet, said that despite significant interests shown by students to study Magar language, the shortage of text has forced the schools to discontinue the course.
According to him, Satakhani´s Nepal National Primary School, Lagam´s Chininggairo Primary School and Bijarau´s Tusra Primary School were teaching Magar Dhut until last year. All three schools stopped teaching the course this year while four other schools that had been teaching Magar since 2004 ended their classes three years back.
Magar Dhut was being offered as an optional subject in Grade I-IV. It was being taught in schools with predominantly Magar students but students from other ethnicities were also studying the language. Nearly 2,000 students have been affected by the discontinuity.
The District Education Office claimed that the books had not arrived due to the schools´ fault. DEO Official Bhakta Bahadur Dhakal said, “We would have provided the schools with books anyhow, but the request never came from them.”
On the other hand, students reported that it was the decision of the district´s teachers´ union to make a common set of examination questions that made it difficult to get the books. The principal of Nepal National Primary School, Tikaram Som, said, “The teacher´s union decided to make questions for English, which is also an optional subject, but not for Magar Dhut.” He said that their requests to the teachers´ union went unheard.
Authorities concerned have requested Magar students to get books and focus on continuing classes instead of blaming each other. The chairperson of Nepal Magar Students´ Organization, Dambar Gajaraj, said, “We believe that no language should disappear. People concerned should be sensitive about the issue.”
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