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Pangkalan Bun (ANTARA) – Indah Makmur Junior High School, supported by PT Gunung Sejahtera Dua Indah (GSDI) and PT Gunung Sejahtera Yoli Makmur (GSYM) in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan (Kalteng), prioritizes the use of local languages, particularly Dayak, in their curriculum.
On Tuesday, Neva Bella, a local teacher at Indah Makmur Junior High School in Pangkalan Bun, confirmed that her school integrates the Dayak Ngaju language into local content lessons. She stated that the initiative aims to encourage students to continue speaking and preserve Dayak language.
In addition, she added, it is in line with the Trigatra Bagun Bahasa owned by the Language Development and Development Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, namely prioritising Indonesian, preserving regional languages, and mastering foreign languages based on Law Number 24 of 2009. ‘Thus, since 2023, Indah Makmur Junior High School has included local languages as one of the mulok lessons,’ Neva added.
He also integrated his commitment with the school’s extracurricular programme by drawing comics based on the legendary folklore of Central Kalimantan, which included the origin of Lake Melawen and the legend of Hantuen.
‘To engage students and enhance their skills, we drew digital comics in the Dayak Ngaju language. Although many parties were involved, the students were responsible for the script and design,’ he explained.
He mentioned that the comic was created in Indonesian and then translated into Dayak Ngaju. To ensure the accuracy of the storyline and grammar, many different groups were involved in creating this comic, including students, teachers, indigenous people of Central Kalimantan, and local government officials.
Ngaju Dayak is a unique language due to its relationship with the largest Dayak sub-ethnicities in Central Kalimantan. Moreover, it is easier to find resources for learning this regional language, both online and in the form of a dictionary,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), there are 23 languages in Central Kalimantan. As reported on the kemendikbud website, Dayak Ngaju is the language spoken by the majority of the population of Central Kalimantan.
Source: Antara News
