ENGLISH NEED NOT BE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Linguistic inclusivity in higher education will democratize education itself. The colonial inertia has to do with the continued dominance of English in HEIs.

- MAMIDALA JAGADESH KUMAR

Indian languages represent our culture, traditions, and national identity and connect us socially and culturally. However, some think English is the key to employment opportunities. They believe only English can help us connect with the rest of the world. This mindset has long affected the use of the Indian language medium in Indian education. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recognises India's multilingual heritage. It advocates Indian language medium of instruction as a serious policy intervention to ensure inclusivity.

India has a rich tradition of scholarship in its languages. However, it is interesting to see how English has become the default medium in higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the Kothari Commission (1964-66) recommending Indian language medium of instruction, its implementation did not take off. Seven decades later, this unresolved legacy weighs directly on student outcomes.

Prioritizing English alone as the medium of instruction in HEIs leads to a decline in learning outcomes. Very few educational systems in the world impose such a burden on their students. They don't make students learn complex concepts in a language they are uncomfortable with.

When rural students, particularly first-generation learners, are routinely placed in English medium schools due to anxiety, they lose self-esteem and ultimately discontinue higher education altogether. It is, in effect, a system designed to hobble rather than enable. This phenomenon explains why the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently asked all the higher education institutes to allow students to write their examinations in their mother tongue, even if the language of instruction is English. The principle is simple but transformative. Assess students on their subject knowledge, not their English.