“English, a must in today’s world”

PREETU NAIR
SANGUEM: “English should be taught from standard I in all government and government-aided schools. As our children are denied English education from standard I, they have difficulty competing with children from English medium schools,” said Sheikh Mukhtiar, a small time businessman.
His friend, Mohammad Khan, who works in the Gulf added, “As there are no English medium schools in the area, we are forced to send our children to a Konkani medium government school.” Mohammad insists that he understands the benefits of learning in English and feels guilty about not being able to send his child to an English medium school.
In Sanguem, there are many like Mohammad who have no option but to send their children to Marathi or Konkani government or government-aided primary school because there are no English medium schools in the area. And parents who seek to educate their children in English have to send their kids to Sanvordem.
People here strongly believe that if knowledge of mother tongue helps one understand their roots and build identity, then knowledge of English prepares a child for future challenges. “What is wrong if the children speak bilingual: mother tongue as well as universal language in school? Anyway children learn mother tongue very quickly if parents continue to use mother tongue with them,” observed Sheikh Abdul Ghani.
Ghani added that children anyway learn to speak in mother tongue because it is the language spoken at home. “But English is a language they find difficult to learn because most of the time even parents can’t speak in the language. But we want to ensure that the children learn in English which is the universal language,” he said.
A standard VIII student Sheikh Manjal, who had his basic education in Marathi, admits that the complete shift from Marathi to English was not easy. “It was a nightmare. Unlearning what you have learnt in the mother tongue till standard IV and then learning things in an almost alien language from standard V is difficult. It took sometime for me to come to terms with understanding, writing and speaking in English. I respect my mother tongue but the struggle from switching from learning things from one language to another is taxing”, he said.
There are also many who agree that the core identity of a culture is embodied in and perpetuated by its language, yet insist on sending their children to English medium school. Reason. “Learning in English is an access to higher education and economic mobility. Perfect knowledge of English is definitely the cornerstone of success in a fast-driven economy,” opined Ravindra Borker.