English Medium Education: An Individual and National Need

From www.ekantipur.com

On a day in my twelfth grade, my English teacher was marking my test papers in front of me. Suddenly he asked me if I came from a government school. I said, "Yes, I am from Nepali medium." Then he commented, "If your parents had enrolled you in an English medium school…" He didn't complete the sentence, but looked at my face directly and seriously. My face turned very serious and quite shy. This comment had such an impression on me that I am still thinking what if my parents had enrolled me in an English medium school.

            In today's world, in which English is considered the international language, being educated in English has various benefits. Realising those benefits, most of the private schools in Nepal have been practicing English as the medium of instruction in their classrooms. But most of the government schools teach their students in Nepali medium. The difference in language of instruction has divided Nepali education system into two distinct hemispheres. Between these two paths, the English one is most beneficial for today and tomorrow. Since English education makes students more qualified and competent in their future education and career, English should be the medium of instruction in all schools of Nepal.

            Whether they study in English medium or not in their schooling, students have to be well skilled in English for their higher education. Most of the disciplines in educational practice in Nepal today have included contents from the international domains into their curricula. Some limited contents can be translated into Nepali for the pedagogic purpose. But, translating them all is impossible. Further, if a student wants to know something more than what prescribed in the text, she has to refer to the international original sources. Access to those sources is only possible if she is richly familiar with the English language from the early schooling. So schooling in English makes them more resourceful while studying any discipline anywhere in the higher levels.

            Nepalese students have faced many problems in university programs for not being from the English medium schools. The biggest and oldest university in Nepal, the Tribhuvan University has allowed its colleges to choose either English or Nepali as the medium of instruction. Students can write their answers in either of two mediums. But, its examination questions except for the Nepali subject itself are only in the English medium. Due to this situation, many students who are grown into the Nepali medium education happen to misunderstand or not understand the questions and write wrong answers even if they know the correct ones. Were they educated in the English medium, they would score better than they actually do with English questions. Consequently, not only their life would become happier, but also the national educational status would go up.

In many nations, students from English medium schools have scored better than students learning in vernacular ones. The most apparent example for us is results of SLC exams every year. In average, English medium students score far higher than Nepali medium students all the time. "One of the ailments of community schools is poor English language proficiency. More than 50 percent of the students who fail the SLC exams fail in English while their counterparts from private schools fare excellently in English" (Paudyal). A recent research in Gujarat, India has shown that students from English medium schools have got better score than students taught in the Gujarati language in the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) exams. TheTimes of India has reported the research, "Of the 162 students who got over 90 per cent marks, 105 students had taken the exams in English. This was almost double the number of Gujarati medium students who got over 90 per cent marks". Thus, teaching students in English can promote their grades leading them toward better opportunities.  

             Students educated in the English medium right from their schooling get better educational and job opportunities all over the world. In today's age of globalisation, no country can separate itself from the entire world for trade, commerce and development activities. Nepal as one of the least developed nations further has to depend more on the developed ones in many respects. Though one can ideally wish for such a condition, it is very difficult - almost impossible - for Nepal to provide the quality of education and job opportunities that a citizen demands at least for the next few decades. In this scenario, people go abroad for study and jobs. If they are educated in English medium back in their home, they can find it easier to be there in overseas.  "In fact, students with an English medium background enjoy more preference in their entire lives" (Ranjan) .Once they are well efficient in English, which the English medium education easily and obviously guarantees, they can grasp better opportunities for better education and careers.

            If English becomes the medium of education in Nepal, Nepalese people can enhance their professional skills from various learning opportunities that their English efficiency provides to them. And, those skills allow them to come out of dirty, dangerous and disrespectful jobs that most of Nepalese get in the international labour market today. With their natural and spontaneous fluency in English, they can become prestigious professionals in prestigious institutions of the world. And for any country, having reputed citizen is a way of adding into the national reputation. English medium education thus can enrich recognition of this nation in the world. Yes, this is possible, provided we will incorporate English as the medium of instruction in all the schools.

            Fluency in English, that an English medium education doubtlessly guarantees, can help people express themselves and communicate to the modern world. Let's take an example from Nepal's neighbor, China. China until recently was quite "closed" to English language. Of course, they began teaching English years back but it was not effective when it comes to communication. David Kedwards, Chief Executive of Wall Street English, an organisation that teaches English around the world, writes about their experience in China, "… it is often only after they finish school that they switch on and realise that they need English in the real world" (Kedwards). Here, his students have found their English (possibly taught in the Chinese like we used to be taught English in Nepali!) insufficient thus begun learning English again. He writes that many senior people in the Communist Party and in government bodies are also learning English. Speaking English is regarded as one of the greatest assets in China now and thus English medium education is getting more value there.

            The case is almost similar to Nepal. Take an example from the speeches delivered by Nepali delegates in various foreign programs. Mahabir Paudyal, an English teacher in Kathmandu, on The Kathmandu Post has discussed aspeech delivered by then Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at the SixteenthSAARC Summit in April 2010. Paudyal has commented, "He had great difficulty in pronouncing words like daunting, world, able, government and consideration. He could not manage stress, pauses and intonation. … There was no touch of Englishness." Paudyal also has found the Prime Minister's education in Nepali medium as the sole reason for that shameful appearance. He has concluded, "If he had been educated in an English medium school, he would not have made a fool of himself and thereby Nepal. If he had been competent in English, perhaps he would have been able to see eye to eye with the other delegates and communicate his agendas confidently." Many people from laymen to political intellects also comment that Nepali politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats cannot argue strongly for interests of the nation while negotiating agreements in the international fronts solely because they don't have fluency in English. Though it seems a joke in surface, it has some validity given the examples like the speech by Nepal as mentioned by Paudyal.

            People still may think that children should get education in their mother tongues. A child rights activist Sanjog Thakuri says, "Children have a right to learn in their own language. With their own language, children can share their real feelings. Otherwise, they are suppressed by others." He also mentions that various articles of the UN Convention on Rights of the Child(UNCRC) emphasise their right to expression and education in their own language. Okay, fine! But, classroom is not the only place where children can share their feelings. Further, education in the English medium shouldn't necessarily mean that the children should be forbidden to speak their languages. They can - and should - speak their languages anytime they like. But, what is argued here is that they need to learn academic contents in English so that it will be easier and better for themselves in their days to come.      

Given a large number of mother tongues in practice in Nepal today, it is practically impossible to implement education in mother tongues. Thus, they have to choose either Nepali or English as the medium. Choosing English will be the best option in this condition as a second language for communication because English allows them to reach wider than the Nepali. Further, it has been identified that English medium education can help bridge gaps between and among language groups in a multi-ethnic society. A Malaysian news site MalaysiaKini has claimed that English medium schools can be the better places to mix up children from different ethnicities than monolingual schools for single particular ethnicities. It has written, "mother-tongue education, although desirable, will make the schools even more ethnically polarised than they are today." Thus, it has suggested the Malaysian government authorities to promote English schools as they contribute to ethnic harmony.

            Some others claim that English medium education risks existence of vernacular languages. The Himalayan Times has reported that many educationists pointed out that "students taught in English are losing command of the Nepali language and do not know much about the country’s sociocultural aspects" at a conference of English teachers in 2012. But the point to be considered here is promoting education in English medium doesn't always promote and result into neglecting Nepali and other vernacular languages. Neither is it logically sound. One can teach Nepali and other languages very well even if there is a compulsion of English medium for other non-linguistic subjects like science, mathematics and economics. 

            The Education Act has allowed schools to choose between Nepali and English as medium of instruction; or they can also opt for both (Paudyal). Further, the government authorities too are quite open to English medium. TheHimalayan Times has quoted Kathmandu District Education Officer Baikuntha Aryal that "“The policy does not bar the selection of English as the medium of instruction". Thus, it's completely up to schools on what they want to choose. The private schools have got success to make profit as well as win trust from guardians and make their students score better by choosing English as the medium of instruction. Some government schools too are learning and following them. If the government makes provision of education in English medium mandatory for all the schools or if all the schools choose so, the division existing in Nepalese education system would surely end and the students would get brighter future.

Had my school learnt the lesson earlier before my time, I could have escaped that blush in front of my classmates. Escaping the blush is not much important though. What more important is that I couldn't be deprived of all the benefits that my friends from English medium are getting. Let's wish that the future generation students can get all those and be able to make themselves and the nation better and brighter in the world. Let's wish that English becomes the medium of school education in Nepal so that individual students and the nation itself can grow higher. Think of it today!   

Works Cited

The Himalayan Times. "English posing a threat to local languages, say experts." 29 Dec. 2012. The Himalayan Times. 15 May 2013. < http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=English+posing+a+threat+to+local++languages%26sbquo%3B+say+experts&NewsID=359703 >

Kedwards, David. "Doing Business in China". 5 Nov. 2012. BBC News. 22 May 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20080927>

Leong, Lan Boon. "Benefits of English medium schools". 27 Sep 2011. MalaysiaKini. 15 May 2013. < http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/177025>

Paudyal, Mahabir. "Back to English". 14 May 2010. The Kathmandu Post. 15 May 2013. < http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/05/13/oped/back-to-english/208252/ >

Ranjan, Vivek. "Benefits of English Medium School in Modern Days". SelfGrowth.com. 15 May 2013. < http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/benefits-of-english-medium-school-in-modern-days>

The Times of India. "English medium students grab better ranks". 14 May 2013. The Times of India. 15 may 2013. < http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-14/ahmedabad/39255606_1_gujarati-medium-english-medium-students-rankers>

Thakuri, Sanjog. "Re: Namaste". Email to the author. 15 May 2013.