Being multilingual: Democratic pressure has made political parties introduce English in schools

Context: Political debates about language convey a different picture while if we approach the subject from the other end, that of voters communicating their preferences, and the picture is quite different.

What is the situation wrt preference of medium of instruction in schools in India?

The demand from parents has led to a sharp rise in the proportion of English medium schools in India. More than a quarter of schoolchildren are now enrolled in English medium, making it the largest after Hindi medium.

– The Chennai Corporation has now extended spoken English classes in schools run by it from just a handful to the entire list.

– Karnataka plans to introduce spoken English sessions in primary classes in its proposed model government school.

Political system and state governments are now experimenting with bilingual textbooks in government-run schools.

– Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka are among states where textbooks have content printed in both regional language and English to get children acquainted with key terms in both languages.

Why English needs to be promoted in schools in India?

Historical circumstances have given India a national advantage by equipping a sizeable number of people with a knowledge of English, among other languages. It’s translated into big economic gains, and it’s something China is trying to replicate in its education system.

English is the most important lingua franca of the world right now.

What is the way forward?

The issue should not be framed as one language or another. The pragmatic choice is the learning of more than one language.

It’s a sensible choice, as being multilingual confers many advantages, and the country has moved in that direction.

The task ahead is to find more effective ways of helping children learn more languages.

Source: This post is based on the article “Being multilingual: Democratic pressure has made political parties introduce English in schools” published in The Times of India on 10th Apr 22.