Douglas King, Island, 10 Oct. 2010
Letting the Genie out of the bottle – A reply
I hasten to reply to Rohana Wasala’s article on the English medium in schools in Saturday’s Island. Firstly, he is mistaken in thinking that there only around 100 International schools – the real figure probably exceeds 300. They are, however, of varying quality and maybe 20% achieve high standards and have good facilities and proficient teachers. Virtually none are “International”. As to these being only for the middle classes, this is certainly not the case. A large International school in Kandy charges only Rs 700 per month for primary grades. How can they make a profit? Easy. Thirty or more students in a class gives a minimum income of Rs:21,000 per month. Many of these teachers are paid between Rs:12,000 – Rs:14000. Parents have to supply all materials, books etc. Even allowing for overheads of buildings, maintenance, etc. a profit can still be made. The secondary classes require higher fees, and probably allow for more profit. When a school charges Rs:2000 per month, assuming 30 to a class, this now becomes a lucrative business. The writer also fails to realise that the physical teaching conditions in so many government schools, rural and urban, are so poor as to negate any real learning of English as a life skill. The 2009 initiative for English, has achieved virtually nothing, and no doubt a new initiative will soon come forth. The real reason that English is in such a dire state, is not that students fail to see its relevance, but due to the way it is taught and the books that are used. I have contributed numerous articles on this subject over several years, and in one article in particular, I stated that I could teach more English in two full weeks, than many students gain in eleven years. I made this offer to the Ministry on several occasions, but of course no reply was received. Rohana Wasala decries the fact that less than 50% achieve an English examination pass. The real figure for the whole of the grade 11 age group is around 25% and many of these are simple S passes with scores as low as 35%. Whatever the government thinks about International schools, they are achieving an acceptable level of English, and maybe that is the only way that standards will be raised. Most middle class Indians send their children to private English medium schools, and that is the reason for a minority of Indians speaking good English. It certainly has nothing to do with some kind of “magic” from the University of Hyderabad.
Douglas King = Educational Consultant in English and Early Childhood Education, cand can be reached via douglasking1939@yahoo.com
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