On Tuesday, the Andhra Pradesh Government sought stay of a High Court order quashing its decision to impart primary education compulsorily through english medium saying it was the only means to uplift poor and dalit students into the mainstream, but found the Supreme Court disagreeing with it.
Senior advocate K V Vishwanathan, appearing for AP government, told a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramnian that the HC order quashing compulsory english medium instruction for students of class 1 to 6 would adversely impact hopes and aspirations of poor and dalit students, who find it difficult in later life to compete with the students who get educated in english medium schools.
"The High Court struck down the decision even though 96% of parents want their children to be educated in english medium. Education through english medium would help the students, especially those from poor and backward classes to come up in life and compete confidently with others," Vishwanathan said. He said the government had said that it would set up Telugu medium schools at Madal headquarter levels with transport facilities to help those students who wanted to study in their mother tongue.
But, the bench was unimpressed. While adjourning hearing to next week, the bench said, "It is not as simple as you put it. The questions arising from debate over English versus vernacular language are complex and there is no one answer to this. Only in a few countries, the medium of instructions in schools is through a foreign language, like in India. You go to China, France, Germany and other developed countries, the medium of instruction is always the mother tongue.
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