PERCEPTION OF PRE SERVICE TEACHERS TOWARDS PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS IN TRIPURA AT SECONDARY LEVEL

Abstract

India is a country with a rich cultural heritage and diverse ethnic groups living in different parts of the country, each with its own unique cultural heritage. The North-eastern region of India is distinct from the rest of the country in terms of its geography, culture, economy, and education. This region is home to a large variety of ethnic groups due to its geo-political specificities, which have resulted in distinct physical and human characteristics. The region is known for its many tribes, each with their language and dialect, but no script. These Indigenous communities have their own unique way of life, traditions, customs, practices, and worldviews, resulting in tremendous diversity within the tribes. Indigenous knowledge systems, also known as traditional knowledge systems, are ancient and extremely ingrained bodies of information. Their roots are in the ancient past. Their systematization and canonization resulted in elite (the Greater Tradition) science. This research aims to investigate the views of pre-service teachers regarding the integration of the Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) into secondary-level education in Tripura. Despite the various types of education available in Tripura or India, the expected outcomes have not been met since the introduction of Western education. India has been following the ideology of the colonizers for a long time. Even though the Indian government made a lot of initiatives to improve the outcome of education, it has not been successful (Al-Jaro, M. S. (2023). This is mainly because we have disconnected the teaching and learning process from our own reality and have adopted an external one, which results in students being unaware of their culture, tradition, and heritage, leading to an unfulfilled education. Therefore, it is imperative to facilitate the importance of IKS in the minds of future educators. This will help to execute a program that will impart IKS in the minds of pre-service teachers, which will lead to better education outcomes. Knowledge is power, and the program will help to inspire learners to understand the traditional way of life and the socio-cultural, political, and economic situations of various tribes. This knowledge can then be passed on to the younger generation to develop a positive attitude and be productive in the social field.