Mother tongue learning
The emphasis on using one’s mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction in technical courses (Editorial page, “A language ladder for an education roadblock”, August 5) in a linguistically and culturally diverse country such as India is ill-advised. Citing examples of homogenous and mostly monolingual countries such as South Korea, Japan and China where such programmes have been successful is missing the point. In a nation like ours, where regions are primarily demarcated on the basis of language, this is a recipe for disastrous divisions and regressive development in the long run. Already plagued by rising bouts of regionalism, such moves will only further shackle our youth, limiting them to their homes with fewer employment opportunities. The solution is to implement bilingualism or, better yet, multilingualism across the education sector, with a special emphasis on English as a unifying factor, as well as our fellow regional languages, thereby rewriting our colonial legacy. This will also eliminate the debate of Hindi versus other regional languages. Hence, we shall have a generation proficient in both English and their mother tongue in addition to the option of learning another regional language which will expand our human resource assets.
Salini Johnson,
Thiruvanthapuram
Women and science
The article, “The doubted scientist and her vaccine revolution” (OpEd page, August 5), makes it clear that Dr. Katalin Kariko’s journey is not only heart-warming but also shows how she stands as a role model for scores of women in science. Women in STEM, or in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, are significantly outnumbered by men. The discrimination against women in science continues in terms of access to education, questioning their abilities and knowledge, and there being a (gender) gap in pay and opportunities. Highlighting Dr. Kariko’s contribution would help get rid of sexist stereotypes and is a lesson for ensuring inclusiveness in the discipline.
Prajakta Sawant,
Navi Mumbai
