05-08-2007, 08:45 AM
Lots of interesting posts - I have been trying to post a reply for a couple of days - but because I failed to do periodic saves - I lost what I had typed on both days due to power outages from thunderstorms here in Bangalore. Let me try and remedy that this time..
I still cannot get past the feeling that here is an pre-existing "English boundary" or "English barrier" in India that loads the dice against children who enter into regional language schools. Bodhi's post about Orissa reinforces that feeling.
I note the point that Bodhi made about successful regional language school pupils and I have made that point too earlier. But the successful ones only indicate that success is possible and does not detail any obstacle or hurdles that regional language students may face.
For that, one would have to look at the failures - those who did not "make it" and see if their regional language education impeded their progress in any way. If such impediments exist - they will have to be removed before regional language education can be made as attractive as the English language route.
Some statistics may be useful here - and I do not have access to these statistics
1) What percentage of pupils who pass seventh standard in regional language schools go on to complete their 10th standard in regional language schools. How does that percentage compare with a similar statistic regarding pupils entering English medium schools.
2)What percentage of pupils passing their 10th standard in regional language schools go on to acquire college graduate degrees compared with pupils passing from English medium schools.
3) If we can get entrance exam statistics from IIT/Regional engg colleges, what percentage of regional language students who attepmt the exam gain entry into these institutions compared with the percentage of successful English medium students versus those who attempt the exam.
These statistics might show a bias one way or the other. If there is no difference, there is no problem, but if it can be shown that regional language students are suffering in some way - it means that there are institutionalized biases against regional language students.
Empirically, it appears to me that regional language students do face barriers that English medium students do not have to face - but I am talking of ways of documenting that if possible because documentation is essential before remedies can be found.
The school closure mess in Karnataka resulted from the bias that parents are showing in wanting their children educated in English. There seems to be an empirical assumption among those parents that their children would have a better future if they studied in English. The Karnataka government gave a whole lot of licenses to schools asking that education should be in Kannada medium in those schools. However - it turned out that many of those schools illegally switched to English based on demand for that. The Government sat on this for a while and suddenly came down on those schools ordering their closure. The question arises whether the parents of those children are mistaken in assuming that there is a better future for their children in English. Obviously they will not take a risk with their childrens' future and will not accept reassurance without tangible proof.
There are, in my view, other barriers placed in front of regional language pupils. For example Karnataka has 10% of the engineering seats in the country (but not 10% of the population. Karnataka is therefore an attractive destination for aspiring engineering students from all over the country. But for students from other states a better working knowledge of English will be an advantage in an entrance exam that is written in English. A pure regional language education, with anything less than reasonable English proficiency will reduce a student's chances in a cut-throat competition. Little wonder that parents are scrambling to ensure that English does not become a barrier.
I think the promotion of regional language will require some deep structural changes. Cosmetic moves or half hearted partial implementation of regional language education such as that followed by the Karnataka government will not work.
I still cannot get past the feeling that here is an pre-existing "English boundary" or "English barrier" in India that loads the dice against children who enter into regional language schools. Bodhi's post about Orissa reinforces that feeling.
I note the point that Bodhi made about successful regional language school pupils and I have made that point too earlier. But the successful ones only indicate that success is possible and does not detail any obstacle or hurdles that regional language students may face.
For that, one would have to look at the failures - those who did not "make it" and see if their regional language education impeded their progress in any way. If such impediments exist - they will have to be removed before regional language education can be made as attractive as the English language route.
Some statistics may be useful here - and I do not have access to these statistics
1) What percentage of pupils who pass seventh standard in regional language schools go on to complete their 10th standard in regional language schools. How does that percentage compare with a similar statistic regarding pupils entering English medium schools.
2)What percentage of pupils passing their 10th standard in regional language schools go on to acquire college graduate degrees compared with pupils passing from English medium schools.
3) If we can get entrance exam statistics from IIT/Regional engg colleges, what percentage of regional language students who attepmt the exam gain entry into these institutions compared with the percentage of successful English medium students versus those who attempt the exam.
These statistics might show a bias one way or the other. If there is no difference, there is no problem, but if it can be shown that regional language students are suffering in some way - it means that there are institutionalized biases against regional language students.
Empirically, it appears to me that regional language students do face barriers that English medium students do not have to face - but I am talking of ways of documenting that if possible because documentation is essential before remedies can be found.
The school closure mess in Karnataka resulted from the bias that parents are showing in wanting their children educated in English. There seems to be an empirical assumption among those parents that their children would have a better future if they studied in English. The Karnataka government gave a whole lot of licenses to schools asking that education should be in Kannada medium in those schools. However - it turned out that many of those schools illegally switched to English based on demand for that. The Government sat on this for a while and suddenly came down on those schools ordering their closure. The question arises whether the parents of those children are mistaken in assuming that there is a better future for their children in English. Obviously they will not take a risk with their childrens' future and will not accept reassurance without tangible proof.
There are, in my view, other barriers placed in front of regional language pupils. For example Karnataka has 10% of the engineering seats in the country (but not 10% of the population. Karnataka is therefore an attractive destination for aspiring engineering students from all over the country. But for students from other states a better working knowledge of English will be an advantage in an entrance exam that is written in English. A pure regional language education, with anything less than reasonable English proficiency will reduce a student's chances in a cut-throat competition. Little wonder that parents are scrambling to ensure that English does not become a barrier.
I think the promotion of regional language will require some deep structural changes. Cosmetic moves or half hearted partial implementation of regional language education such as that followed by the Karnataka government will not work.