The Government’s decision to do away with Telugu as medium of instruction in municipal schools across the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh, and introduce English medium from Tuesday has come under sharp attack.
While the move is being seen as corporatisation of the education sector, leaders of a teachers’ union have expressed strong reservations calling it ‘unilateral’ stand of Minister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana.
A couple of officials from the Department of Language and Culture have regretted the move saying it would be a setback to serious attempts being made to strengthen the Telugu language.
Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Federation I. Venkateswara Rao and P. Babu Reddy, president and general secretary respectively, said such abrupt introduction of English medium in the middle of the academic year would result in confusion among children. There were 2,51,774 children studying in 2,118 municipal schools across the State, they pointed out. They said the new English medium textbooks were not yet ready, and it would be impossible for teachers to start the classes in English medium immediately.
Minister blamed
Blaming Minister Narayana for ‘thrusting’ his views on children, they said students must be given the option to select the medium of instruction. They said while developed nations across the world gave priority to mother tongue in schools, it was a different story in Andhra Pradesh, where “promoters of corporate education” tried to completely do away with Telugu and replace it with English.
Citing an Oxford survey that said students who were taught in their mother tongue performed exceedingly well in math and sciences, they said the decision was aimed at commercialisation of the education sector.
They also took objection to the Minister introducing new terminology such as e-Techno schools and Foundation courses, which were hitherto banned by the government.
The GO says all municipal schools must follow English as a medium of instruction for all classes except class X this year. It defends the move citing success of the Foundation Course introduced in these schools, and says it has strengthened the knowledge base of the students studying from 6th to 10th standards and has prepared them for competitive examinations both at the State level and national level.
‘Cause of concern’
Deputy Speaker and member of the Telugu Language Development Committee Mandali Budha Prasad said while the medium of instruction was being shifted to English from Telugu, teachers were not proficient in English. “This could lead to a situation where the children would lose touch with their mother tongue and will not be comfortable with English either.”
He said there were great achievers who studied in Telugu medium, but went on to make a mark in the global arena and cited the case of Yellapragada Subbarow, a Telugu man and a renowned biochemist, who discovered the function of adenosine triphosphate as an energy source in the cell, and developed methotrexate for the treatment of cancer.
“He was born in Bhimavaram in West Godavari district and did his schooling there,” Mr. Budha Prasad pointed out.
