pro-Marathi Sena turns 'English'

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Balasaheb's pro-Marathi Sena turns 'English'

Shriya Bhagwat
Posted online: Thursday, March 09, 2006 at 1002 hours IST


Mumbai, March 9: The Shiv Sena, traditionally known for its vocal
pro-Marathi, anti-English position, appears to be in the middle of a quiet
change in direction.As English increasingly becomes the language of the
world, more and more parents in the city are acknowledging its growing
influence and moving their children from Marathi-medium schools to
English, saying it will improve their childs chances, both in college and
in their careers after that.

And the Sena is proving to be the surprise vote of support. All
correspondence these days is in English, so its important that children
have a background in the language and learn to speak it, said Education
Committee Chairman Prakash Ayare of the Sena. I have written about the
proposal to the municipal commissioner. The numbers tell the story. In
2001, the citys 450 Marathi-medium civic schools had 1,86,635 pupils - by
2004 it dropped to 1,75,538. The Sena, which is in the majority in the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), agrees crossing the language
barrier will help Marathi-speaking children.

Having said that, it insists Marathi be given its due. The Shiv Sena never
said English should not be taught. It is the need of the hour, but Marathi
should be given due respect, said Shiv Sena corporator Prabhakar Shinde,
who is leader of the BMC house. Former education committee chairman
Mangesh Satamkar feels shifting social beliefs are driving the trend.
Attitudes are changing. Lower-middle-class people, even those living in
slums, are opting for English-medium schools for better prospects. There
is enough infrastructure, it only needs to be implemented.

More quality English-medium civic schools will come as a relief to many
parents from the middle and lower-income groups, often hard pressed for
money, but still looking for quality education. One of them is Suryakant
Lolge (35), a clerk in a private company with a salary of Rs 4,500 a
month. He lives in a rented house with his wife and two children and has
enrolled son Aditya (Std I) in an unaided school this year. He will spend
Rs Rs 6,750 for a single academic year. I wanted Aditya to study in a
English-medium school for a better quality of education. Also, if he knows
the language, he wont find it difficult in college and hell have better
prospects, said Lolge.

Civic officials, meanwhile, say a change like this will mean changing a
reservation made some years ago, which put a ceiling on starting
English-medium schools. If English-medium schools have to be started, it
will need a policy decision. The administration has to go over the
proposal and a survey will have to be conducted on the number of students
that can enroll. There should be quality English-medium schools with
trained staff, said Vijaysinh Patankar, additional municipal commissioner.

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