THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Owing to the government policy that places certain restrictions on the creation of an English medium section at the Lower Primary (LP) level in government and aided schools, a high proportion of students from poor households continue to stick on to Malayalam medium in higher classes and are left with limited options by the time they reach higher secondary level, a recent study has shown.
The study titled ‘Separate & Unequal?’ authored by Sajitha Bashir, former advisor, Office of the Global Director of Education Practice, World Bank, has called for the adoption of a bilingual model from the LP section itself to arrest the “skewed social composition in government and aided schools”.
The study report, published by the Vakkom Moulavi Foundation Trust of which Sajitha is the executive vice-president, has based data from National Sample Survey (NSS), Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) and Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) for its analysis.
The study pointed out that in primary section, the students from the poorest households (the bottom 20 per cent) overwhelmingly study in Malayalam medium, and almost entirely in government schools.
They stay in government schools as they go higher up the system, studying mainly in Malayalam medium. However, differences become apparent only in grades 11 and 12, at the higher secondary level. “At this stage, the opportunities for these students become far more restricted, often to humanities courses,” it said.
The findings of the study have been corroborated by higher secondary teachers who have seen learning difficulties among students during the sudden switch to instruction in English medium.
“Despite the option to attempt the exams in Malayalam, students from Malayalam medium find the transition tough, affecting their learning outcome and also their performance in entrance examinations,” admitted Manoj S of Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association.
The study cited a government order that stipulates that all government and aided schools have to maintain at least one Malayalam section for creation of an English medium.
“Due to the wide network of schools close to habitations, enrollment dropped as the child population declined. In effect, government policy has ensured that only LP schools in the government and aided sector were forced to remain ‘Malayalam only’,” the report pointed out.
The report concluded by calling for an effective bilingual education system, making all students competent in both Malayalam and English, instead of separating them into different streams.
“There are many such models of bilingual education and many more are being developed as societies become increasingly multilingual,” the report suggested.
Categories of schools
Govt - 5,010
Aided - 7,183
Unaided - 3,164
Others - 883
Total schools - 16,240
