Monday, August 25, 2008

English as a Mandatory subject in Schools

Dear friends,


I think English should be made absolutely compulsory in all schools (as a second language minimum) and that too from Class 1, as India has not progressed enough to sustain on any Regional/National Language alone. We all understand the fact that, we can’t do without English education especially in Higher studies. So the earlier the education starts the better it is for us only. So, be it in higher studies or in employment, students with better English knowledge, do get an advantage over their counterparts and this skill (of being able to speak and write proper English pays in every sphere).So why should we remain backward and be deprived of advantages, by not learning something that’s going to cost us dearly in our future!! What's the point in increasing the percentage of literacy alone if someone can't be considered as meaningfully educated?

Also, the narrow provincialism and religious barrier can be overcome through education only and if there is a single language to express ourselves freely everywhere that will be the one of the factors that would contribute to our unity amongst diverse cultures.

Globally also, it’s because of our English education, we get first preference in foreign countries as opposed to our competitors from China, Japan, Korea.

So it’s for our own benefits we shouldn’t think like idiots to bank upon our mother tongue only. But this doesn’t mean that mother tongue is being looked down upon in here and education is for the rich people…I’m just trying to talk about the benefits that we as an individual and the country as a whole will enjoy if English is treated as the “Unofficial National Language” more strictly.

I don’t think our national pride goes down in any way if we do that …and in fact we have to remember that it’s mainly because of English education only, during the British rule, the Indians came to know about the outside world and the “renaissance” had started…Wouldn’t you think so?

Sincerely,
-Dev

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