Rit Rural Foundation’s Mission to Foster Multilingual Education in Rural Uttar Pradesh

Problem

In Uttar Pradesh, especially in rural areas, students face the problem of unequal educational opportunities. Limited resources, lack of trained teachers, and proper exposure cause them to lag. This may also stem from the limited language exposure. India is a linguistically diverse country, and it is important to learn diverse languages to strengthen and foster a sense of national unity and understanding. Limited language exposure restricts career opportunities as well. Rit Rural Foundation has come forward to help break down the regional barriers by inculcating national, regional, and international languages in their curriculum and thus fostering national integration.

Solution

Language is the biggest unifier of the nation, and with this vision, Rit Rural Foundation started Tamil classes in Uttar Pradesh.

Students across different regions of Uttar Pradesh come to learn the Tamil language in Rit Rural Foundation’s libraries. They are taught in accordance with a structured learning plan that focuses on vocabulary, speaking, reading, and listening. These students are taught the basic vocabulary of the language, such as the names of the days or plants and animals in the foundational classes, and the difficulty is gradually increased. Their progress is constantly monitored, and small milestones are celebrated. This not only helps to empower the students with broader communication skills but also helps break the restrictions on career opportunities due to limited language exposure. Besides, knowledge of the Tamil language helps a speaker express himself in a better way while speaking to native speakers and eventually fosters a better connection with the natives. This is very important for inclusivity as far as the rich diversity of India is concerned.

Outcome

Rit Rural Foundation recognizes the multicultural and multilingual nature of India and how the lack of resources leads to unequal education opportunities. Our efforts to teach Tamil in Uttar Pradesh are slowly but surely paying off. We have established more than 10 Community Resource Centres in close proximity to schools and have changed the lives of thousands of children so far. RRF has received applications from more than 50 Gram Panchayats across Uttar Pradesh seeking to establish more Community Resource Centres. The children have started to feel more confident in expressing themselves in different languages. They are at par with peers who have better access to language education and other resources. This has also opened up a lot of career options for rural children and youth.