Everyday, our newspapers are rife with headlines on the Medium of Instruction issue. While the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), on the one hand, is advocating for primary education in one's mother-tongue, the Forum for Rights of Children's Education (FORCE) demands that the MOI bill approved by the State Cabinet be converted in to an Act.
Also of importance, although not discussed as much in the media, are the abysmal conditions of schools in rural areas. The Indian education system, especially sectors that cater to the rural poor, continues to be plagued with a host of problems “ just one teacher for classes I-IV, old deteriorated textbooks used by the students before them, no books to read or even write on, lack of proper infrastructure and facilities like libraries or computer laboratories, or even benches to sit on, paucity of funds, etc.
In view of such concerns, why are we still fighting over medium of instruction? Isn't the 'quality of education' debate a more important one?
QUOTES Yes, quality of education is certainly important, but I feel that both things go hand in hand. Like humans cannot survive only on air, he/she also requires food to survive. So it is with the education system. Not only is an effective medium of instruction important, so is a focus on quality. Unfortunately, we are more focused only on one aspect rather than the whole.
Ruchika Dalvi, Canacona
One step at a time, even if the quality is good, if the medium is not good, the message will not be conveyed effectively.
Paloma D'Sa, Thivim
BOX
Expand the reach of education
Improved learning outcomes during primary school
Protecting and preserving local languages
Painful shift at high school or college
Forced to translate all concepts from mother-tongue to English
Disconnect with the rest of the worldTraining to teachers Improved curriculum
The quality of education debate
Provision of better facilitiesShift from rote-learning to a teaching-learning process
