M Karunanidhi

Taking argument offered in disagreement to Tamil Nadu Government's recent decision to introduce English medium of instruction in state-run schools, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday expressed his view that education through a non-native language would close up with an obstacle to students' self-learning. While he was also known to have mentioned in a letter to his partymen that education through native language alone would enrich self-learning in children while education through non-native language would interrupt self-learning.

While regarding with attention that Mahatma Gandhi and DMK founder Anna's advocacy for education through native language, he furthered that English was not even a spoken language in many countries in the world and that the private schools and government-run schools were equal, in terms of syllabus, after introducing Samacheer Kalvi (Uniform System of School Education). In consequence of that, efforts should be made to elevate the standards of government-run schools to bring them on par with private schools.

Mahatma Gandhi as a barrister from  London, England

Furthermore, the 89-year old leader did not even stop from listing out the steps the previous DMK regimes had taken towards the improving the standards of government schools and to widen the scope for Tamil language in the state education system. School Education Minister Vaigaichelvan had last week informed the assembly about introduction of English medium in 640 government schools in 2012-13 academic year while he also expressed confidence that fulfillment of such schemes in rural areas will genuinely attract more students to government schools.

Now, coming a factual conclusion expecting a justification that Mahatma Gandhi travelled to London, England, to study law at University College London which was genuinely in British English which makes quiet modest that he was never against English.

Another fact remain that it doesn’t make any difference when it comes to learning for knowledge but really matters when it demands communication especially with the English speaking world for exchanging excellence in academics while also encouraging global business to happen. It's all for the sake of the economic prosperity of the nation.

English is genuinely an universal language!

Content resource: An adaptation from India Today
Image resource: Mahatma Gandhi as a barrister from  London, England.
                           M Karunanidhi

(AW:Samrat Biswas)