Proficiency in English language

The Department of General Education has decided to prepare and implement a master plan with extensive projects with the aim of imparting English language proficiency to children in public schools in the state of Kerala. The decision is highly commendable and gives hope. The aim of the plan is to enable children to speak, communicate and give speeches confidently in English.

Kerala started its journey in the fields of education and knowledge much earlier than all other states in India. Raja's Free School, which was started in Travancore in 1834 during the reign of Swathi Thirunal, was the institution that later became University college in 1866. Swathi Thirunal brought John Roberts, a Christian missionary who was the headmaster of the English school in Nagercoil, as the headmaster of Raja's School, which was started with emphasis on English education. With the arrival of Christian missionaries, efforts to teach English to Malayalis became active.

We have not been able to excel in English education despite the progress in education. Kerala State General Education Department is bringing a new plan for English now, at a time when there is a national trend that English is not essential. We can master the English language only if we make the language knowledge meaningful during our school days. Sadly, we have not given such seriousness to English all this time. Until recently, English was taught in high school classes by science teachers or social science teachers. However, this situation has changed now. English is being taught in high school by teachers who have studied English language and literature as main subjects.

We cannot connect with the world's intellectual fields without learning English. It is generally said that the battle for higher education and employment is half won if we learn English. Only by learning English can we master the changes that are taking place in the fields of science and technology. We are now living in the digital era. Most recently, artificial intelligence is establishing dominance in all fields. We cannot help but rely on English to deal with all this and to differentiate between its good and bad and move forward. Malayalis were introduced to classic works of world literature through their English translations. Malayalis were introduced to world writers from William Shakespeare, Shelley, and T.S. Eliot to Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez through English. It is highly commendable that the first lesson of this year's 10th graders has included Marquez's story A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings and the last lesson has included Mark Antony's famous speech from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. These lessons are designed to take students to the skies of world literature and ignite their imagination. The Department of General Education is definitely starting an effort to make this more meaningful and take it to greater heights. We also compliment the Minister of General Education, V. Sivankutty, for leading this.