IS ENGINEERING TEXT BOOKS IN REGIONAL LANGUAGES HELPS US, HERE IS A REPORT

The all India Council for technical education has recently launched technical text books for engineering courses in Marathi. The books have been introduced after the government decided to have engineering books 11 languages to support from non English medium schools. 

In 2021 AICTE has initiated the translation work to publish 218 books and the Maharashtra government recently 20 engineering books in Marathi to help students. 

Harshadeep s joshi, assistant professor, Babasaheb Ambedkar technological university ,lonere, Maharashtra who was among the panel involved with the translation of engineering books in Marathi hails the initiative to be supportive students. 

The target group is the students from rural Maharashtra, where Marathi is the primary language. It is observed that the medium of instruction is English in technical colleges. Most of these students simply cram up the syllabus from the books and reproduce it in the examination, says joshi. 

In the process, the emphasis on understanding is lost. If the students understand the concept in Marathi, they can remember and apply them better. It is also observed that, many students despite knowing the answer, could not write in the exams due to poor knowledge in English. As many as 20 books have been translated in to Marathi that involved 20 translator and 19 reviews and the entire process was completed in one year. Around nine books are introduced at UG level, while 11 books will be used in the diploma courses. 

We have followed the model syllabus of AICTE which supports OBE out come based education framework. The technical terms in the books are intentionally nor translated to Marathi so that the learners do not have any difficulty coping with the field requirements. The concepts are translated without distorting the technical meaning, adds joshi. 

Preside Droupadi Murmu also recently launched project that included engineering books in Odia language nothing that learning in mother tongue enhance the creative thinking and analytical skills among students. She said it also provides equal opportunities to urban and rural students. 

Explaining the recent precedence of translating technical books in regional languages Hrusikesh Mohanthy ,principal ,Bhubanananda orissa school of engineering curtain, says, the move aims at uplifting the academically poor students from remote villages. Teaching these students in the language that they understand will help in easy understanding. However, apart from these students, aspirants usually prefer learning in English or Hindi only. Teaching cannot be done majorly in regional languages mohanthy adds. Because there is no single regional language in any state. For instance, there are around 10/12 versions of odia in odisha and there is a huge difference in these regional dialects. 

Technology is constantly evolving and translating all new books and the new technical concepts every year is not possible. It is therefore not a feasible idea to conduct the entire technological education in the regional languages. He notes.  In 2021,three colleges in karnataka introduced engineering courses in kannada medium from academic year 2021-2022. However, there were not many takers of the engineering courses in kannada language. 

Academicians cited a lack of job opportunities for regional language students as the reasons for low applications. 

Thanks education times