Now, English-medium teaching in Andhra Pradesh's degree colleges

The Jaganmohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has now decided to switch to English-medium instruction in all degree colleges, beginning from the 2021-22 academic year.

The move would leave native Telugu as one of the languages taught for the students.

CM Reddy's decision, two years ago, to make English-medium teaching compulsory in all schools from 2020-21 was opposed by various political parties and the matter had reached the Supreme Court.

Unperturbed, the YSRCP administration has announced that English-medium teaching would be made compulsory in all the undergraduate (UG) courses, across all the government, private-aided and unaided degree colleges from the approaching academic year.

On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education asked all private colleges to submit proposals for conversion of all existing Telugu-medium sections into English, with the exception of languages under Part-II.

“Applications for the new unaided 4-year UG Honours programmes would be accepted for English medium only from 2021-22,” said Prof Sudheer Prem Kumar, secretary, APSCHE in the letter.

The transition at the UG level is to strengthen students' further education and job prospects in a globalizing world, officials said.

“According to the India Skills Report 2019, English figured among the top three skills, along with learning agility and adaptability, that employers look for,” said a senior official of the department of higher education, adding that a majority of students already prefer the English medium.

Out of the 2.62 lakh students who took admission into degree colleges across the state in 2020-21, only 65,981 students opted for Telugu medium.

“Out of these 65,981 Telugu-medium students, 24,007, 16,925 and 24,960 have enrolled in BA, BCom and BSc courses respectively. They would also benefit immensely from the transition. By studying core subjects in English, the inherent inhibition wanes away, allowing a fluency to develop,” the higher education officials assert.

Officials say students opting for higher education would be major gainers. “Transition from Telugu medium in intermediate (+2) to English medium in degree would be easier, compared to such transition in post-graduation. Also, as the 4th-year UG curriculum is research-oriented, it would be difficult to pursue quality work in PhD, if the UG was in Telugu medium.”

Lecturers in the government colleges, though apprehensive about the change, particularly in the initial years, are nevertheless welcoming the move.

“An enabling environment should be created in the colleges to allow the students, especially those from rural backgrounds, to adapt slowly and comfortably to the massive change,” Shankar Rao, a lecturer in a state-run degree college in Prakasam district, told DH.

Officials said they have devised such a strategy already. To facilitate smooth transition, the department is developing spoken English courses at various levels. “We have introduced courses for personality development, leadership, human values and professional ethics. Every student is required to select at least one such life skill course in the first two semesters and two in the third.”

Further listing English-medium teaching benefits as advocated by Reddy, officials quoted a 2016 report of the Cambridge University - ‘Findings of English at Work: Global analysis of language skills in workplace’, pointing out that for 90% of employers, English language skills are important.

“Even in the public sector recruitment through the UPSC, APPSC, SSC, BSRB etc., English proficiency is tested.”