Medium is message after no-English era
MITA MUKHERJEE
A government that had clung to a no-English policy for almost two decades is now having to sift through over 40 applications every month from people wanting to open private English-medium schools.
Between last October and January, the state government has distributed nearly 90 application forms for new English-medium schools not only in and around Calcutta but as far away as Midnapore and Jalpaiguri.
"The rush to open new private English-medium schools is unprecedented," said a senior official of the school education department.
According to him, the government has been selling up to three application forms every working day since October, which is a new trend. "Even in 2009, the department would sell only 5 to 10 such forms a month," the official said.
Academicians and teachers attribute the spate of applications to the sorry state of state-aided and government-run schools.
With poor infrastructure and shortage of teachers becoming their trademark, the majority of the 13,000 state-aided schools across Bengal don't match the aspirations of middle-class parents and their wards. That is why parents are reluctant to put their children in these schools despite the government reintroducing English at the primary level after an 18-year ban.
"Most parents think that the English language is the most important part of modern pedagogy and consider the standard of teaching in English in state-run institutions poor," said a school inspector.
English was reintroduced in Class V in 1986, Class III in 1998 and Class I in 2003, based on the recommendations of the Pabitra Sarkar Committee.
"One cannot deny that there is a demand for English-medium education from parents. This could be one of the reasons for the increase in the number of applications for permission to open private English-medium schools," school education minister Partha De said.
But does an English-medium education guarantee good education? "Most private English-medium schools have a good record, which has given parents the confidence to consider such institutions as their first choice," an official said.
A break in distribution of forms between September 2009 and October 2010 has fuelled demand, according to officials.
The government had stopped distributing forms to restructure the rules for private institutions in conformity with the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act. The legislation recommends encouraging private institutions and setting up a task force in each state to frame the guidelines for such schools.
Anybody interested in opening a private English-medium school needs to first collect an application form from the school education department against a fee of Rs 2,000. The application must be accompanied by land deeds, bank documents, break-up of space, facilities, number of students and proof of teachers' qualifications.
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