This story is from November 10, 2019

English medium education only till Class 6 for now in Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday made some changes to its GO on converting all government schools in the state to English medium. The government, which had initially decided to implement English medium till class X, has now decided to confine it till sixth standard for now.
English medium education only till Class 6 for now in Andhra Pradesh
Picture used for representational purpose only
VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday made some changes to its GO on converting all government schools in the state to English medium. The government, which had initially decided to implement English medium till class X, has now decided to confine it till sixth standard for now.
Chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who held a review meeting with education department officials on Saturday, took the decision to introduce English medium in government schools from class I to VI.
Telugu will continue to be a compulsory subject for all classes.
Taking into consideration the protests from teachers' associations on forcing English medium on schools, the CM directed officials to take necessary steps to introduce English labs to improve students' and teachers' English in all schools from November 14 along with the launching of Nadu-Nedu programme.
Officials explained that government schools are ill-equipped for now to handle English medium classes till the 10th standard. Training teachers is a major exercise and officials suggested the CM to introduce the English medium in a phased manner. Jagan then asked the officials to introduce English medium in primary schools across the state till sixth standard as of now.
He also directed officials to follow CBSE and ICSE methods as per the suggestions of the expert committee on education reforms. He also told them to focus on training the teachers in handling English medium classes in the coming years.
Many teachers' associations have opposed the decision of introducing English medium in primary education. "Primary education lays the foundation for students. Many international agencies have opined that primary education in mother tongue will give the best results. But our government is trying to force English medium on students for the sake of competing with private schools. We will continue our fight till the government withdraws its decision," said G Hrudayaraju, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Teachers Federation (APTF).
Students' associations have also demanded the state government to completely withdraw the proposal of implementing English medium overnight. "Around 70% of teachers in government schools are capable of handling English medium. Namesake training classes in English are not a solution to this. The decision will ruin the future of students," said A Ravi Chandra, president of Progressive Democratic Students Union.
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About the Author
Venu Lanka

Venu Lanka is a special correspondent, at The Times of India-Vijayawada. He covers developments related to VMC/APCRDA, Janasena, education, health, endowments, and agriculture-related stories. He holds two graduate degrees, one in business management and another in law. He completed his post-graduation in journalism and mass communication, apart from completing short-term courses.

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