For a smooth transition from Telugu to English as a medium of instruction in the degree colleges in the State, the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) is publishing bilingual textbooks for the Under-Graduate programmes.
“This is to create certain comfort for the students to understand the core concepts and enable them to switch to English medium totally in a course of time,” said K. Hemachandra Reddy, APSCHE Chairman.
E-content
The council also plans to provide bi-lingual e-content in the form of video and audio lectures through its Learning Management System (LMS) platform for the academic year 2021-22.
“Besides organising Faculty Development Programmes to upskill the teaching staff to enable them to handle the English medium sections, colleges have been requested to conduct special sessions on English communication skills, particularly for students who are facing problems with English medium,” Mr. Reddy told The Hindu.
The State government has decided to do away with Telugu as a medium of instruction in all the UG colleges from the academic year 2021-22 and introduce compulsory English medium. The government is of the view that the transition will be easier at the graduation level.
The APSCHE has asked all private unaided and aided degree colleges offering Telugu medium courses to submit proposals for conversion of the Telugu medium courses into English medium.
“Learning English as a subject and learning all subjects in English has a significant difference. The association with English language is less when we learn it as a subject. But while learning all subjects in English, the association with the foreign language increases and students tend to become more confident about English language,” observed Mr. Reddy.
With a belief that the ‘Future of Work’ demands knowledge in English, which can be met by studying UG in English medium, the authorities are hopeful that the inherent inhibitions of the students will wane away.
Employers’ preference
Citing the findings of India Skills Report-2019, in which English figured among the top three skills along with learning agility and adaptability, Mr. Reddy said about 90% of the employers in the country considered English language skills as “important for their organisation.”
The fact that only 25% of the students had enrolled for Telugu medium for courses such as BA, B.Sc, B.Com and other programmes for 2020-21 also contributed to the government decision.
Of the total 65,981 students enrolled, 24,007 are in BA, 16,925 in B. Com, 24,960 in B.Sc and 89 in others.
Taking note of this, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a review meeting with the officials of the Department of Higher Education, decided that degree colleges in the State would offer courses in English medium only henceforth.
