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

conservation. Tharu traditional practices, customs and cultural heritage were also included. Speciallyproduced music cassettes and posters made the curriculum rich and unique. It should be noted thatthe status of Tharu as an officially recognized national language in Nepal facilitated these efforts. Theproject could recruit experienced teachers familiar with local culture and traditions from within theethnic group to implement the curriculum. This helped in the sustainability of the programme beyondthe life period of the pilot project.The project in Indonesia also addressed adult learners and a variety of materials were specially producedfor the purpose. A Sundanese bi-monthly brochure called Buletin Kejar was a major component of thelearning material, which included learners’ own writings and ideas like short stories, letters, personalexperiences,and columns designed to sharpen the basic literacy skills of about the environment, health,and collective entrepreneurship. The contents focused on generating business capabilities and meetingthe everyday needs of the learners in Kampung Cibago. Publications in Sundanese generated renewedinterest in preserving and using the ancient script to produce historical legends and songs. Tutors wereselected to teach adults to read and write in Sundanese through the Roman script, the base for thenational writing system in Indonesia. Guides were also selected and trained for educating the learnersin Sundanese script. Tutors and guides were trained in such aspects as the general context of Subangdistrict, social relations and cultural practices, management of learning and assessment, discussionand teaching techniques, and entrepreneurship skills. In addtion, they were given intensive training todevelop mastery in both the national and the local language.The project in Thailand represented that country’s first bilingual programme for imparting mothertongue literacy to ethnic minorities. Each community learning centre organized for the programmehad one Thai and one Northern Pwo Karen teacher. Unlike programmes in the other countries, all theteachers possessed associate or bachelor degrees. The Pwo Karen teachers were assigned to teachthe younger children, and the Thai teachers, the older ones. A series of workshops were organized toproduce learning materials, which included primers, word card sets based on key words from the primer,an audio tapes containing traditional Northern Pwo Karen songs, as well as children’s songs translatedfrom Thai, and cultural calendar posters. A major problem faced during the project’s implementationwas the difficulty of retaining the trained teaches within the project because the formal school systemoffered better incentives.To sum up, one could conclude that producing learning material and providing trained teachers toparticipate in mother tongue-based literacy classes is not easy. In terms of introducing mother tonguelearning materials into the formal school setting, comparability with the mainstream materials poses abig challenge. Thereafter, arranging for a smooth transition into the mainstream medium of learningis even a bigger challenge. Some countries adopted translations from the main language. The Nepalexample went further in producing a dictionary and a grammar book for the mother tongue. A majorcritical factor facilitating actions in this regard was the presence or absence of support from officialsources.Some projects drew technical support from experts working in universities and other higher educationalinstitutions, as well as governmental Departments of Education. However, the case studies illustrate thatthe process of creating learning material that is interesting and culturally relevant to ethnic minoritygroups is a challenge, even for the experts. One could trace some specific trends, particularly in thematerial produced for adult learners. For instance, the Tharu language primers in Nepal and the Rabhalanguage material in India reflected a Freire-ian perspective of empowerment and conscientization[ 20 ]