Thousands of children of Odia-speaking people residing in bordering districts ofJharkhandare forced to study in Hindi medium due to the lack of Odia-language teachers in their schools.
As a result,Odisha Bhasha Vichar Mancha a civil Society group has decided to move the Jharkhand with a demand to include Odia in the teachers training programme.
The recent decision of the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) to exclude Odia from the primary teachers training programme in the state has added to the woes ofOdiasin Jharkhand.
Sources said Odia is studied as a second language in Jharkhand as around 20 lakh Odia-speaking people reside in 10 districts of the state. In the three bordering districts of East and West Singhbhum and Sareikala-Kharswan, around 30% of the Population are Odias.