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<a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/we-cannot-erase-hegemony-english-so-why-can-t-our-kids-learn-it-govt-schools-85448"></a><h1><a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/we-cannot-erase-hegemony-english-so-why-can-t-our-kids-learn-it-govt-schools-85448">We cannot erase hegemony of English, so</a><a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/we-cannot-erase-hegemony-english-so-why-can-t-our-kids-learn-it-govt-schools-85448"><h1>?</h1></a> why can’t our kids learn it in govt schools</h1>
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As a government college professor, I have seen generations
of bright learners lose out on opportunities only because of their
linguistic weaknesses. </span>
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<a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/author-articles/Manika-Ghosh">
Manika Ghosh </a>
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Thursday, July 26, 2018 - 12:04 </span></li>
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In his recent announcement to introduce English-medium classes from
Class 1 onwards in government schools, the Chief Minister of Karnataka
has opened doors of opportunities for a large section of children in the
state.<p></p>
<p dir="ltr">The language policy in the state was adopted in 1994,
mandating the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in
primary classes. This is the first time since then that an attempt has
been made to revise it. Parents and right-thinking educationists see it
as one of the most positive and progressive changes in school education.
Children in government schools who mostly come from poor socio-economic
backgrounds and are mostly first-generation learners will now get
similar opportunities that come easily to children from private
English-medium schools.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Not surprisingly, this initiative has not gone down well
with Kannada activists; they have strongly opposed it. The latter’s
resistance stems from an ill-founded notion that it will compromise the
cultural ethos of the state. How can any culture be so fragile that it
gets diluted by learning one extra language? Culture is an evolving,
ever changing, dynamic, utilitarian force that helps society keep pace
with changing times.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Advantages of a second language</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">The 24 years of “mother tongue” formula used in schools has
not done much in terms of improving comprehension levels or academic
performances, if pass percentage in schools is any indication. What it
has certainly done is hamper their ability to learn any language well.
In my experience as a professor in a government college in the state for
decades, I found Kannada spoken by a majority of students, including
the native speakers who came from Kannada-medium schools, to be a queer
mix of English and Kannada. They are neither adept in Kannada nor in
English.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Learning English in early school will at least put them at
an advantageous position in higher education and in the employment
market. It defies reason as to why anybody in the right frame of mind
should oppose a move that will elevate the livelihood prospects of a
large section of poor children.</p>
<p dir="ltr">During my tenure as officer in-charge for skill development
and placement in all the 356 government colleges in Karnataka and also
as consultant for the newly formed skill development department in
Karnataka, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a multitude of
company recruiters for decades.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Organizing many job fairs and placement drives in different
parts of the state gave me a clear understanding of the employable
qualities in candidates. Apart from the requisite qualification, skill
and attitude, emphasis is laid on the applicant’s linguistic abilities,
especially in English. Knowledge in one or more regional languages is
seen as an added merit. It had saddened me time and again to witness
many qualified and capable young aspirants being rejected in job
interviews only because they could not speak, read or write English well
enough.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Politics of language</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">Several states across the country have been guilty of a
political ploy that played havoc with the lives of generations of
children. In the name of upholding the culture of the land and promoting
usage of mother tongue, government school children have been denied the
kind of education they needed and aspired for the most. By virtue of
government policy, children in primary classes were forced to learn only
in their ‘mother tongue’ at the cost of learning English. The struggles
of these children to match up to the more privileged ones begins right
from there.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In 1983, the Left Front government in West Bengal banned
the teaching of English till Class 6 for varied political intentions,
which was masked as cultural pride and student welfare. It raked up
misplaced chauvinism among the lower- and middle-class Bengalis much to
their regret in the later years. It has had a disastrous effect on
several batches of school children throughout the state in terms of
their job prospects, especially outside Bengal. Many brilliant students,
by virtue of their academic records, found themselves in reputed
institutions, but it was very unfortunate that their confidence levels
dipped due to their inability to speak fluent English. The same
inability came in the way of them getting deserving job offers, losing
out to less meritorious persons with better English knowledge. English
became the primary defining point.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Language chauvinism in modern India perhaps has its roots
in the anti-Hindi agitation of the 1960s in Tamil Nadu. It is etched in
people’s minds as the bloodiest fight for retaining language identity of
a people. It soon fanned the linguistic sentiments of people from other
non-Hindi speaking states. What began as an opposition to imposing
Hindi gradually saw the exclusion of English as well. Education,
especially school education, is the softest target for any government.
Thus, succumbing to pressure from culture chauvinists and also to score
political mileage, several state governments rolled out lopsided
policies. Introducing mother tongue as a medium of instruction in
schools was certainly one of them.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>English as an aspiration</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">The undeniable hegemony of the English language cannot be
wished away. It must be accepted however grudgingly that a significant
advantage of the once-colonized India has been its access to the English
language. It is not providence that has given a competitive edge to
India in the global market against several developing countries. English
is the language of commerce, of science and technology, of employment
and hence of development. With the advent of social media, English has
gained renewed importance.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Learning English is aspirational for a vast majority of
people in the country who have been systematically kept away from it by
vile political scheming. While the masses suffered under such mindless
policies, helplessly losing out on a crucial competitive edge, the
leaders, chauvinists and the elites brazenly continued to get their
children enrolled in English-medium schools. Their blatant
discriminatory attitude is similar to the Brahminical tyranny that
denied people of lower socio-economic strata access to knowledge of
Sanskrit, the erstwhile language of the elite.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It is a great tragedy for Indians that even after 70 years
of sovereignty, our national identity is determined by a certain mindset
we portray. We are yet to come to terms with living in a free country
where democratic principles granted by the Constitution of the land
reign large. How else can one explain the trespassing of personal spaces
of citizens and growing mayhem unleashed by the self- proclaimed
guardians of culture?</p>
<p dir="ltr">In the recent past, right from what we eat, what we wear,
how we celebrate, whom we marry to what languages our children need to
learn in schools are being dictated by these culture extremists. Anybody
who deviates from their diktat becomes the target of mob frenzy,
lynching, arson and loot. The intolerant bigots who perpetrate these
crimes roam freely, fearlessly, emboldened by lack of punitive actions
against them, with tacit support of the state and Central governments.
The apathy and the appeasement politics played both by politicians only
add to the public outrage.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The language policy of the various state governments has
only catered to the advantage of business-inclined private English
medium schools that have mushroomed all over. Over the last five years,
private schools have gained 170 lakh students despite the exorbitant fee
structure and government schools that offer free education have lost
130 lakh students across 20 Indian states.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Despite hardships the poor prefer the English-medium
schools. Anasuya, who barely made both ends meet, staked every little
thing she had to enroll her child in an expensive English-medium school.
Uniform, books, bus pass, building donations further drained her. Her
only solace she poignantly explained when asked, “She will get a good
job and people will address my daughter as ‘Madam’ like you”.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Language as an emotion</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">With emphasis on imparting employability, skilling-training
government bodies like National Skill Development Corporation and Skill
Development Departments of several Indian states have been set up with
huge budgetary allocations. Interestingly, a large part of their
training curricula, that are outsourced to private organisations for a
considerable per candidate cost, comprise spoken English coaching.
Wonder who is responsible for this unnecessary drain on the exchequer’s
money.</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, it must be said that although English learning is
crucial, there is no denying that learning mother tongue is just as
important. It is a language of feelings and emotions. The mother tongue
is a naturally and easily learnt language at home, taught lovingly in
the cozy environs of the family. Language is germane to cognitive
development, like thinking, perceiving, recalling, and decision-making.
Learning multiple languages not only broadens these capabilities, but
enhances a child’s intellectual, social and psychological environment,
opening a wider world of knowledge.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It is time that policy makers, language chauvinists and
culture sentinels understand the science behind language acquisition.
Ample research evidence suggests that prior to the onset of puberty,
that is, before the ages of 9-12 years, a critical learning period
exists when children are capable of learning and mastering multiple
languages with equal ease. Any language learnt post puberty or as an
adult may not have the same kind of dexterity. Observing a migrant
family clearly demonstrates this phenomenon. Although parents may live
in a new place longer than their children, they can never match the
fluency or ease with which the children speak the language of that
region.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Primary school children are in their pre-puberty stage,
when they can hone their multilingual capabilities. Given an
opportunity, they are capable of learning mother tongue alongside
English with equal élan. Limiting children to learn one language, either
mother tongue or English is a great disservice to children’s natural
lingual gift. Living in a shrinking globalized world, linguistic
pluralism or multilingual ability is what stands to benefit children
most.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In this milieu, the progressive step taken by Karnataka is
to be emulated by others. This will herald social engineering in the
true sense of the term. Every child in our country has a right to
education, especially for meaningful education that brings promise of a
better and happier future. Elected governments have a commitment towards
it.</p>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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