Guwhati: The Assam government has announced that starting from the 2025–26 academic year, 278 Lower Primary schools across the state will adopt Dimasa as the medium of instruction. This initiative marks a significant effort to safeguard and promote the Dimasa language, primarily spoken by the indigenous Dimasa community.
According to an official notification from the Department of School Education (E.No. 632888/79), the decision aims to enable children from the Dimasa community to receive foundational education in their mother tongue. The move is intended both “in the interest of the public in general and for preserving and promoting the Dimasa language,” the document states.
The schools affected by this change fall under the jurisdiction of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC), with plans to potentially expand the programme to other areas with substantial Dimasa-speaking populations.
To ensure a smooth transition, senior officials including the Director of Elementary Education, the Director of SCERT, and the Mission Director of Samagra Shiksha Assam have been tasked with overseeing the implementation.
Education experts have welcomed the decision as a meaningful step towards linguistic inclusion and cultural preservation in Assam, reflecting the state government’s commitment to supporting indigenous languages through education.
This initiative aligns with wider efforts across India to recognise and nurture regional and tribal languages, reinforcing the importance of mother-tongue instruction in early childhood learning.