The HRD Minister, Kapil Sibbal, is trying to introduce a new (?) formula in the Indian Education. "The 3 langauge formula".
The idea is to teach 3 languages in schools: the State language (mother tongue), English (a language to connect to the world) and Hindi (a language to connect within the nation).
The idea is great... ain't it? I wonder why nobody else thought of it till now... :-/
AFAIK, this formula has already been tested and is working well in some states and has failed miserably in other states. For states like Tamilnadu and Kerala, the language Hindi is as alien as any other language on the planet, and we cannot force Hindi down their throats.
Hindi (as in people who speak Hindi) never learn any other Indian language, but they expect others to learn Hindi. Isn't that just unfair to the states down south? or even states like Orisa, W.Bengal and N-E states??
Ideally, I would prefer it if we have a common language in India, cause that will be a symbol of national integrity. But which language could it be? May be Hindi is the answer, may be not...
May be there is no answer right now...
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It isn't about a single language alone, more so about the purpose it serves to achieve.
ReplyDeleteLets consider this-
India has 29 languages to "connect" with each other. The communication will eventually happen . What we however need to teach our kids is - Education that will matter ,and prepare them for the Information age we are now in. Language of Mathematics, Arts and Science .Its time we moved beyond the Roti Kapra and Makan and started looking at the transition past the lower level of the Maslow's Hierarchy. Only then, can we say having been truly equipped to meet the challenges of the New world we have dawned upon .