Bangalore: English under siege

[Harold F. Schiffman]

English under siege!!

posted by Rajesh Dangi at 9:40 AM on January 21, 2007

Few cities have been as successful as this one in parlaying knowledge of
English into an economic boom, successfully leveraging the same in the
growth story..

Bangalore is the world's back office, an information-technology
outsourcing champion and a jewel in India's burgeoning economy. a news
report from Los Angeles Times The department derecognised 2,000-odd
schools during the second week of September 2006 for violating the
language policy of 1994. This move by state authorities threatens to
tarnish that reputation. In a twist that has caught many by surprise,
schools across the state face closure for making English their chosen
language in the classroom. Refer this PDF on KDA ( Kannada Developement
Authority) .... The language that brought glory to the city and the
business, based on 1994 court ruling that prescribes Kannada as the
primary language of instruction in elementary schools. But the crackdown
has triggered protest from educators who complain of infringement on
academic freedom, parents who see English as the ticket to their
children's success and business leaders who warn that Bangalore could lose
its competitive edge if it shuns one of its greatest assets. The Unaided
Schools Association has now decided to file a writ in the High Court
against the State Government's order derecognising schools violating the
State's language policy. Refer..

The democratic wisdom seen going so hypocratic that they have started
trimming their avenues of growth, is it not the time to really understand
that the growth of this city is because of it's technical competencies
completely based on 'english' as a medium of communication and
collaboration and not the local language. Let us try and viasualize all
the text books covering all subjects of the syllabus getting converted to
local language and the fun associated with it!!

http://bangalore.metblogs.com/

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