The Forum of College English Teachers (FOCET) of Kuvempu University has opposed the reduction of teaching of English and other languages in the proposed curriculum framework for four-year undergraduate programmes to be implemented under the New Education Policy 2020.
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The proposed framework for four-year courses reduces the teaching of languages to one year.
In a press release issued on Monday, the office-bearers of the forum termed the new proposal ‘illogical, unscientific and extremely unfortunate’.
“The proposal, on the one hand, proposes to provide more job opportunities to students and, on the other, it deprives the students of learning English, essential for jobs,” according to the statement.
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It said language learning was important not only for communication skills but also for shaping the overall personality of students.
“Without acquiring linguistic skills, learners would not be able to express their thoughts properly. So, teaching of languages in new four-year UG courses should be of three years rather than just one year,” it said. The new proposal would be harmful to students, particularly those not properly exposed to English at primary and secondary education levels.
“The need of the hour is to expose them more to language learning than reducing it to fewer periods,” the forum said.
Prof. S.C. Sadashiva, president of the forum, Dr. T. Avinash, secretary and others have signed the memorandum, which was submitted to the registrar of Kuvempu University.