Northeast Desk, 4th February: During their 54th annual conference at Jatrakona in South Garo Hills, the Meghalaya Koch Association has appealed to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma for support in preserving and promoting the Koch language and advancing the Koch human resource index in the state. Commending the state’s ongoing welfare initiatives, the association put forth a proposal to introduce the Koch language as the medium of instruction in Primary Schools in their villages, replacing Assamese or Bengali.
The proposed language shift aligns with the New Education Policy’s directive, emphasizing the use of a student’s mother tongue as the medium of instruction until the eighth standard, as outlined in section 29(F) of chapter V of the Right to Education Act, 2009.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, while addressing the Koch community during the conference, assured them of considering the inclusion of the Koch language in the state. The association submitted a memorandum to the Meghalaya Government, seeking financial assistance to establish career counseling centers in Koch villages with the aim of augmenting the community’s human resources.
Additionally, the Koch Association, underscoring the Koches as one of Meghalaya’s most backward indigenous minority tribes with a literacy rate around fifty-four percent, appealed for financial aid to set up coaching centers for Para-Military Forces’ recruitment. They also pressed for an increase in the reservation percentage for indigenous minority tribes to at least fifteen percent, aiming to benefit their youth in government job recruitment following the state’s reservation policy.