By Indo-Asian News Service
Ranchi: English will soon be introduced as a medium of instruction in secondary and senior secondary schools in Jharkhand.
The board of Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC) Wednesday gave its consent to a proposal for introducing English as a medium of instruction in all secondary and senior secondary schools in the state.
JAC will send the proposal to the state government for its approval.
Till now, Hindi was the medium of instruction in the 1,200 secondary and 170 senior secondary schools under the state education board.
“We have decided to make English mandatory as the medium of instruction in the secondary and higher secondary schools. Now both Hindi and English will be used,” said JAC chairman Shaligram Yadav.
“Till now only examination questions were asked in both Hindi and English. But now students can also write their answers in either language,” he said.
“Hindi medium students find it difficult when they switch over to institutions outside the state or join private schools after passing the secondary examination. We want to end the barrier between government and private schools by introducing English as a medium of instruction,” another JAC member said.
However, some people are sceptical of the JAC proposal. “When the Jharkhand government introduced the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus four years ago, the teachers were unable to match the requirement and studies were affected. The move to make English the medium of teaching is good but the education department should first ensure that the teachers are trained,” said Manoj Shah, a parent.