Secondary Education । Place of English in Secondary Education

Secondary Education

Secondary Education. Proper primary and secondary education is essential in human life. What is a secondary education? The second stage generally found in the formal education system. The stage beginning about the age of 11 to 13 and ending usually at age 15 to 18 for a common student. Although millions of children around the world are unable to read and write correctly even after spending three or more years in school education.

 Introduce English in Secondary Education

With the advent of the British in India, India became acquainted with Europe, especially the English, and with their languages, customs, and cultures. The British Government introduced English education in India to fulfill its own political interest. It had the need of creating a group of English knowing loyal Indian bureaucrats and workers to continue the exploiting role. Hence the education policy during the British rule was beyond the grip of the Indians. The British Government introduced the English language in schools to serve their own purpose. Eventually, the success and failure in examination essentially depended on the success or failure in securing pass marks in the English language. Thus the students had to spend more-and-more time, energy and labor to learn a foreign language like English. This is what the condition of the pre-partition pre-independence days was.

Adoption and Debates

But after independence, the condition underwent a change. As we are now the citizen of a free and independent country, now we have the right to shape our own education system. The English language has enabled us to know the vast 'span of the scientific knowledge of the West. Most of the books containing the treasure of knowledge in every walk of life like arts, science technology, commerce, medical science, space science, geology, geography etc. are written in English. As such in our free and independent India, we must know English for our own benefit. But of course not in the manner, the British Government had put it—instead, we will learn English in our own way so that it befits own our children.

But the introduction of English in the Secondary stage has caused great debate. The teachers who are habituated in the traditional form of studies and teaching English find it difficult to go with the present and new curriculum. It is further alleged that introduction of English at the Secondary stage, instead of beginning it from the primary level, has weakened the students in English and they will never be able to compete in the All India level. Nor will they be able to read books of high thoughts and knowledge.

Experts View

As noted linguists and phonetic experts have agreed that up to an age of 10 the child should be imparted knowledge or education in his or her mother tongue. He or she will learn to pronounce, to spell and to express his ideas and thoughts properly up to this age and this learning can be made perfect only through the mother tongue, not in a foreign language. Even poet Tagore once said that the mother tongue to a student or child is like his or her mother’s milk. They should learn the foreign language at a matured age and hence English should be introduced at the secondary level.

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Old System vs New System

It has been found that the old system of reading English Grammar and literature is no longer in vogue. There is g change in the system of reading English today. In the West, the students learn Sanskrit by finding its similarities and dissimilarities with Latin. Likewise, we shall lead our students to learn English making them well conversant with their mother tongue first like Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, and Gurumukhi etc. This will help them to learn the structure of English language easily. Hence in each state, the Government has established an Institute of English with the experts of English language and literature. They have formulated a curriculum for the students and have prepared new syllabus with new directives that may help the students.

The NCERT a wing of the human resources department of the Government of India had made an All India Survey on the status of English all over India and found that excepting Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh nowhere in India English has an ethnic environmental base. As Christianity still has an influence in these regions, the English language has become almost their mother tongue. But nowhere else in India, the situation favors the English language to be studied from childhood. Hence the language has been introduced in the curriculum of the Secondary standards.

 

Demand for Modern Education and life

These objections and allegations are not true. Days are changing and new things, ideas, and outlooks are emerging in every sphere of life. Here old systems need change and hence changes have been done by NCERT. An old generation always tries to stick to their own ideas. Hence is the controversy. Any dispute or contradiction can be solved across the table. This can also be employed to solve this controversy. What we need is patience and broadness of heart.

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