Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has announced that from the next academic year, English as a medium of instruction would be introduced across government schools. Soon, a think tank with members drawn from among administrators and teachers would sit together and chalk out an action plan.
Announcing this to thunderous applause at a Teacher’s Day function here on Friday, he said the need of the hour was to equip and train students from Telangana to face global competition. “I have faced scepticism when I mooted the idea in certain circles. But I see no problem because you have strong communicators by default. All this while, you taught in Telugu and over a period of time, with some basic training, you will switch to English,” he explained.
Mr. Rao waxed eloquent, showcasing his learning of Telugu literature and also using Sankrit phrases while showering praise on his teachers Raghava Reddy and Mrutyunjaya Sarma.
“If I am standing before you and talking fearlessly, it’s only because of what my teachers taught me and that’s the case with everyone of you,” he said, adding that mother gives birth to a child, but it’s the teacher who gives life to the young one, equipping him/her with the skill sets required to face the world.
Coming back to the issue of adopting English medium in government schools, the Chief Minister cited the example of how China, where English had officially been ‘banned’, was now taking great leaps forward, primarily because its people were now getting trained in English.
He recalled how drivers in the car pool at the Beijing Olympics were trained in basic communication in English in just a fortnight and so were staff at hotels where sportspersons were housed.
Others present include Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali, Ministers G. Jagadhish Reddy (Education), Nayini Narasimha Reddy (Home), Members of the Legislative Council P. Ravinder, K. Janardhan Reddy and Sudhakar Reddy. In all, 87 teachers were felicitated for their teaching skills.
Mr. Jagadhish Reddy called upon the teachers in the packed Ravindra Bharathi to re-dedicate themselves to equip students with the knowledge and skill sets required to face global competition.
This would contribute significantly to achieving ‘Bangaru Telangana’ (Golden State), he said.
