Riya Bhagwan 
The Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji has moved to strengthen Hindi language teaching in its schools through the introduction of supplementary books, replacing current textbooks with older versions that are considered easier for students to understand.
Speaking at this year’s Arya Convention last night, Sabha President Arun Padarath said the initiative is aimed at making the teaching and learning of Hindi more effective.
Padarath emphasised that Hindi is more than just a means of communication, describing it as an important part of identity for people of Indian descent.He added that efforts to preserve the language are increasingly important at a time when its use appears to be declining.
Padarath stated that the Sabha is currently working on printing the supplementary books, following approval from the Ministry of Education to reintroduce older Hindi textbooks as learning resources.
These older texts, including the Raman-Saras series previously used in schools, would be used alongside current materials to support learning.
The move comes in response to challenges faced by both students and teachers in understanding the current Ministry of Education Hindi textbooks, which, he said, have proven difficult to teach and learn from.
Speaking as Chief Guest, Employment Minister Agni Deo Singh also called on parents to lead by example in promoting the Hindi language.
He said children learn from what they observe at home, encouraging parents to first improve their own habits, speech, and use of language in order to positively influence their children.
The Sabha is also working on promoting the Hindi language from the kindergarten level.
