States realize English is what people want

Posted On: 26/01/2014 Updated On:

It's not just parents across India who are confused about the time and importance to be given to education in English and the vernacular; the latest data from NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) reveals our education establishment is just as perplexed, with very little uniformity in the way regional languages are treated.

The NCERT study, which examines classes per week at both the Class V and Class VIII levels, states that while schools in Maharashtra have set aside 13 classes a week at both levels for Marathi, the highest in the country for the vernacular, the weekly school timetable in Nagaland includes only three lectures for the local language at the Class V level, and in a small number of districts in Arunachal Pradesh, only four to five periods are allocated per week for the regional tongue in Class VIII.

Almost 30% states devote six to seven periods a week in Class V for teaching the local language, the study says.

Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are next to Maharashtra in emphasizing the importance of the native tongue, with 12 classes per week at the Class V level.

"At the Class VIII level, most states have allocated more than six periods," said SK Yadav, author of the study called the National Study on Ten Year School Curriculum Implementation.

The NCERT Curriculum Framework had, in 1975, recommended setting aside 25% of the total weekly teaching hours or eight periods per week for the regional language. This was raised to 30% in 1988. It was then recommended that 32% of total teaching time be set aside.

In spite of this, English seems to be scoring. Introduced towards the middle of elementary school, it is now offered at the Class I level in 26 states, making it clear that most states have realized that that is what people want.

"In general, parents have started sending their children to public schools and not to government schools. In the Framework of 2005, it is mentioned that introduction of English is now a matter of response by the people and less an academic or feasibility issue," Yadav said.

In fact, many states have rewritten the school timetable and upgraded English in the last two years by redirecting some of the classes set aside for regional languages for English. Educationist J M Abhyankar said the State Council for Education Research and Training has now assigned 4.5 hours for Marathi and 5 hours for English.

Classes earmarked for teaching of English in Class VIII vary from five to nine per week in different states. In almost a third of the states, English is taught for six periods a week, while states like Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have provided seven periods. In Jammu and Kashmir, a maximum of nine periods have been allotted for the teaching of English per week.

Linguist Peggy Mohan said, "What we have created is an India where the elite have decamped to English, leaving it to the poor to keep our languages 'warm' for us in our absence. It is not surprising, then, that the poor have decided to follow us up the food chain into the privileged world of English."

Mohan added, "While they (parents) may know they are abandoning their heritage by putting their children early into English-medium private schools, they are sanguine about this, choosing to survive in the present milieu over being the reluctant custodians of local languages that have given them precious little in terms of livelihood in return for loyalty."

More News

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2021 Date Announced

The Consortium of National Law Universities has announced the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) date. CLAT 2021 will be held on July 23. The admission test will be held between 2 pm and 4 pm for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes...

Posted On: 15/06/2021

UP Board Class 10, 12 Result 2021: Guidelines Soon, No Merit List This Year

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the Board of Secondary Education will soon issue the guidelines and prepare the results of Classes 10 and 12 students. In the absence of examinations, the Board will not release a ...

Posted On: 14/06/2021

VITEEE Result 2021 Declared; Direct Link

The Vellore Institute of Technology has declared the VITEEE result 2021 or VIT Engineering Entrance Examination Result 2021 on the official website– vit.ac.in. Those who have appeared in the examination need to enter their application number an...

Posted On: 12/06/2021

NIFT 2021 Final Result Announced For BDes, Other Programmes

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has announced final results for admission to BDes, BFTech and other programmes. Students who appeared in the interview round after clearing the preliminary entrance examination can visit the officia...

Posted On: 11/06/2021

States Gear Up For Entrance Exams After Cancelling 12th Board Exams

As Class 12 board exams have been cancelled by most of the states and the two central boards – CBSE and CISCE – the next step for the students is taking admission to undergraduate courses. Some of the top universities – DU, JNU, Jam...

Posted On: 10/06/2021

Maharashtra MHT CET 2021: Registration Begins Today, Know Details

Registrations for the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT) CET 2021 will begin today, June 8, Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said. The application forms will be available on the official website, mhtcet2021.mahacet.or...

Posted On: 09/06/2021

ICSI Releases Revised Schedule For CS June 2021 Exam

Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has released the revised schedule for CS June 2021 exam. The Institute, on May 4, had notified that the CS June exams were postponed. The council has released the exam schedule for the Foundation progr...

Posted On: 08/06/2021

ICAI Postpones CA Foundation Exams, Announces Schedule For Inter, Final Exams

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on June 5 postponed CA Foundation exams and announced the date sheets for CA Intermediate and CA Final exams scheduled for July. The CA Foundation exams will now begin on July 24. The decision to...

Posted On: 07/06/2021

National Entrance Screening Test, NEST 2021, Postponed, Application Deadline Extended

In view of the Covid situation in India, the National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2021 has been postponed, the authorities said. Registration deadline for the entrance exam has also been extended. Students can submit their forms up to July 15. &l...

Posted On: 05/06/2021

Medical Courses After Class 12 Without NEET scores

Medical courses are among the most preferred choices after passing Class 12 due to career growth and lucrative job opportunities. Every year, millions of aspirants register and appear for the NEET UG exam. As per last year's data, as many as 7,7...

Hyderabad, Telangana

PGDM

Apply Brochure

Admission Open

Atria Institute of Technology

Bangalore, Karnataka

MBA

Apply Brochure