INDIA HAS INHERITED a multicultural and multilingual society where bilingualism and multilingualism have become the order of the day to be a part of the main-stream. While mother tongues and regional languages were part of the curriculum from the beginning, English made inroads into our educational system as a second language. Slowly, realising the importance of English as an international language, many schools upgraded it as first language in the curriculum. Little information is available, however, on the number of people who “know” English and the extent of their knowledge or even on how many people study English at school. According to the 1981 census, 202,400 persons (0.3 percent of the population) admitted to English being their first language.
Less than 1 percent admitted to English being their second language while 14 percent admitted to being bilingual (in two of India’s many languages).
The Fifth All-India Education Survey conducted in 1992 explored the avenues for studying English in India. According to the survey, only 1.3 per cent of primary schools, 3.4 per cent of upper primary schools, 3.9 per cent of middle schools, and 13.2 per cent of high schools use English as a medium of instruction. Schools treating English as the first language (requiring ten years of study) are only 0.6 per cent of rural primary schools, 2.8 per cent of rural high schools, and 9.9 per cent of urban high schools. English in India is offered as a second language (six years of study) in 51 per cent of rural primary schools, 55 per cent of urban primary schools, 57 per cent of rural high schools and 51 per cent of urban high schools. As a third language (three years of study), English is offered in 5 per cent of rural primary schools, 21 per cent of urban primary schools, 44 per cent of rural high schools and 41 per cent of urban high schools. These statistics reveal a strong desire to study English on the part of people exposed mostly to vernacular education, even in the countryside.
English continues to be the premier and prestigious language in higher education because the resource and guidance available in this language are abundant compared to that available in the regional languages or even the national language. Careers in business and commerce, government positions of high rank, and science and technology which attract the brightest, continue to require fluency in English. English is another passport and provides the visa for overseas study.
English is reckoned as a prestigious language and the tongue of first choice and continues as medium of instruction in elite schools at every level. Private English medium schools are mushrooming in all large cities and many smaller cities. Even government schools run for the benefit of senior civil service officers, use English because only that language is the acceptable medium of communication throughout the nation. It serves even better while one migrates to exploit opportunities and Indians are constantly shifting base within the country. Our cities reflect this reality.
The working-class, comprised of rural and urban migrants and who perhaps are bilingual in their village dialect and the regional language, perceive English as the tool for their children’s advancement. Schools in which English is the medium of instruction are a “growth industry.” The English speaker also commands more respect and draws courteous responses in some situations than does a speaker of an indigenous language.
However, in recent times in the global marketplace, Indians have become the obvious choice of the knowledge-based industry because of their sheer knowledge of the English language and the ability to effectively use it on the job. The trend is showing positive and upward growth and even the European and American companies have been showing greater interest in offering jobs to Indian professionals. Not all credit is to be given to English alone; knowledge of the subject is important too; yet expression and communication are being powered by English. There is no denying this fact.
Realising the importance of this imported language which can bring benefit to the society and the nation, the National Knowledge Commission of India has proposed to the government of India to strongly recommend the inclusion of English from Standard I in the school curriculum. The Commission is of the opinion that “in the 21st century marketplace, languages are the new bargaining chips. They are tools of trade, no less or more; that is precisely why we must embrace them.” The learned scholars do feel that “linguistic proficiency is the key to unlock the door of opportunities in a world where borders are blurring in the blink of an eye.”
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