The New Education Policy that was announced last week was, by and large, received with a measure of appreciation in the country. Although there were some chirpings from the margins about “saffronisation”, both the Government and Opposition seemed inclined to support a policy that allowed for greater flexibility in both school and higher education. The point was, of course, made that the success and failure of any policy depends on implementation and that is an area the Government will have to focus on. Spending a larger percentage of the country’s GDP on education is naturally desirable but the quality of that expenditure has been strictly enforced. In particular, attention will have to be given to the quality of teaching in Government schools, not least because the appointment of schoolteachers is an area that witnesses the maximum amount of political interference.
There is one aspect of the NEP that is of special interest to most citizens but which, curiously, has been spoken about the least — the role of English. The silence is not difficult to comprehend. All over the country, English is understood to be a tool of both social and economic advancement. Yet, while its importance is recognised all over the country, the unevenness of its usage and competence in the subject makes it a politically volatile issue. Maybe the country has gotten over the days, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, when public positions against English was a vote catcher. There is also diminishing returns from seeing English as a colonial hangover that must be cured if India is to regain its self-respect. Yet, it is a feature of India’s very own politically correct behaviour that the NEP never addresses the English language issue frontally. Its role is contained in the sub-text.
The inhibition is understandable on many counts.
First, it doesn’t make sense for the substantive discussions on the NEP to be derailed by an emotive but purposeless spat over English. That would have an opening for just too many people with unrelated agendas to step in and muddy the waters.
Secondly, there is often a convergence of issues centred on the competence over the language and its importance. There are large sections of India who, for varying reasons, have only a halting command over the English language. They are naturally more proficient in the Indian languages, particularly their own mother tongue. Very often this has to do with the indifferent teaching of English in schools. What passes off as working knowledge of English is worrying. While many Indians are capable of comprehending the gist of, say, an official letter in English or filling in a form, their familiarity with the language doesn’t often extend to drafting a reply, never mind expressing complex thoughts. Moreover, their skills in conversational English is poor, not least because there are infrequent opportunities to practise speaking it.
Yet, despite the unending lip-service paid to the need for translations of important works in non-Indian languages, the undeniable fact is that these are thin on the ground. I have met extremely bright college students pursuing a degree course in history — a subject that I am reasonably familiar with — whose wider readings on the subject are hampered by their insufficient grasp over English. In an ideal world, this deficit should have been filled by special classes to improve proficiency in a language. Unfortunately, the facilities for such coaching don’t often exist. The result is that bright students are often handicapped by having to overcome a language wall. Quality education and intellectual exposure is thus restricted.
West Bengal is a case in point. In an earlier era, students from Bengal benefitted from a historically longer exposure to English. Consequently, they enjoyed an advantage in the employment market. However, following the Left Front Government’s decision in 1979 to remove English from the primary school curriculum, this advantage was nullified.
The NEP has conceded that children pick up languages from a very early age — the younger the better. This means that an early exposure to English will be desirable without, in any way, taking away from polishing their natural fluency in their mother tongues. I hope that the State Governments which have the final say in matters concerning primary and secondary education are not overcome by cultural cussedness. Parents want their children to acquire a good working knowledge of English and there should be no resistance to its teaching from a very early age. What is now needed is for the education authorities to look into the pedagogy of English teaching. This needs drastic improvement.
In fact, what is very crucial is for all subjects taught as second languages — be it English or Sanskrit or anything else — to have a pedagogic overhaul.
Finally, there is the social cache attached to proficiency in English. This is not something that the NEP can address. The enhanced global opportunities available to those who can express complex thoughts in English are obvious. English, consequently, has become an aspirational issue. This is something that can only be tackled by injecting greater cultural self-confidence in the country so that English comes to be regarded as a skill rather than a social attribute.
