Mother Tongue-based Literacy Programmes: Case Studies of Good ...

and write in Tharu because, although the alphabets are the same, the Tharu language has significantlymore half-alphabets like ”I” and “G” and the phonetics are different. The common alphabet also meansthat the students can read Nepali.The second reason is that the course contains a lot of information about the local culture, history andreligious practices which the participants can relate easily to and enjoy. The consulted facilitators insistedthat there has been increased awareness in the community about the importance of conserving theTharu culture and traditions. For example, in the Ghoraha community of Deukhuri Valley, women weretrying to go back to wearing their traditional dress. Participants were also known to have followed thebook while conducting certain rituals. In Dokrena, other women from the community repeatedly askedthe facilitator for additional classes in the community, so that they too could benefit.Sometimes facilitators worked according to the demands of participant’s interest. For example,facilitators made time for classes at night. The unpredictability of electricity supply and lack of properplaces to conduct classes were the obstacles for the literacy classes. Most of the facilitators taughtclasses at their own homes, while in Dokrena the CMC had arranged for the 0 , classes to take place at aparticipant’s home because the facilitator didn’t have enough space. Apart from the above arrangement,the facilitator could influence what the participants learned in class. For example, in Uttar Kapradevi, itwas not the CMC, but the participants, themselves, who took action against the number of drunkenmen in the community. In other !-words, the facilitators could make the literacy participants offensiveto those who were disrupting the literacy classes. Besides, Tharu women were able to guide the menoutside the class and later explain to them about the importance of education.Facilitators discussed the topics presented in the literacy materials, and then tried to relate the topicsto relevant situations in the community. They also asked the literacy participants for additional topicsabout culture and tradition, as these are the primary stakeholders of the literacy programme. Sometimes,facilitators simplified the mathematical problems raised by the literacy participants. In one instance,one of the participants felt that the long stories needed to be shortened and more illustrations to beadded. All of the literacy participants agreed that additional supplementary reading materials in thelocal language would be useful, especially in the post-literacy scenario.Regarding the importance of mother-tongue literacy, facilitators like Ram Kumari responded, ‘If we Tharustop using our language, will it not be the end of our culture and tradition?’ Facilitators stressed the needto revive, promote and preserve the Tharu language and culture. Basanti Chaudhary of Besahi adds,“While Nepali is important as it is our national language, it is also important that our coming generationsknow about our own culture and language. Even within the Tharu community, there are great variationsin culture and traditions. Further studies will give us more knowledge and we will have a richer culture.”Literacy Teaching Plan and MethodologyAppropriate pedagogy is an important tool to deliver the literacy/NFE programme. This means boththe teaching method and the teaching materials should be developed as per participant demand.Following this premise, the pedagogy was designed to suit the local approach to teaching. In doingso, very few non-Tharu words (‘Vatabaran’[environment] and ‘oxygen’) were used in them, because ofa lack of alternative words in Tharu language. As both facilitators and participants were of the samecommunity, Tharu language was used in all classroom activities and there was no language switching.The only language problem being encountered was that the book contained a mixture of words fromDang and Deukhuri dialects and some words needed to be translated.[ 137 ]