Tripura government yet to take any 'policy decision' on Roman script for Kokborok language answer papers

The Tripura government is yet to take any 'policy decision' on allowing students to write Kokborok language answer papers in Roman script, in-charge Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath told the state assembly. 

Shortly after the question hour, opposition leader Animesh Debbarma asked whether the government had taken any 'policy decision' on the issue and recalled Chief Minister Manik Saha's assurance in the last session that a committee would be formed to look into it. 

"There are around 5,000 Kokborok-speaking students who are scheduled to appear in the CBSE examination starting on February 15. If these students are not allowed to write Kokborok language answer papers in Roman script, they will face difficulties as they cannot write papers in Bengali script," he said. 

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CPI(M) legislator Jitendra Choudhury expressed concern over the deadlock and claimed that during the Left regime, Kokborok-speaking students were allowed to write answers in both Bengali and Roman scripts. 

Dismissing Choudhury's claim, the in-charge education minister said the CBSE has already rejected the introduction of the Kokborok language in both Bengali and Roman scripts, as it allows only one. 

In their election manifesto, the Tipra Motha had promised to introduce the Roman script for the Kokborok language, which is the mother tongue of most of the ethnic tribes in the northeastern state.