Govt. plans revamp of English education

By G. Mahadevan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 31. The State Government is giving finishing touches to an action plan aimed at improving the standards of English teaching/learning in Government schools following the abysmal performance in SSLC English papers of students in Government schools all over the State.

The Education Minister, Mr. Nalakath Soopy, is understood to have given the `in principle' nod to a proposal to convert one teacher's post in all the Government high schools in the State to that of an English teacher. The Minister is also understood to have okayed in principle, the implementation of a series of `shoring up' measures that have been drawn up by the DPI, Mr. V. P. Joy.

When for the first time in the history of the SSLC examination, computers were used to generate a comprehensive data base for analysing the performance of students in various subjects, it came as a shock to the officials at the Department of Education that the lowest average marks in this year's SSLC examinations had been those of Mathematics and English. Of this, the lowest average mark was for English. The State's average marks for English paper 1 and 2 were 13 and 13 respectively out of 50 marks. This is 4.5 marks lower than the mark required to pass in a paper. For Mathematics the State's averages are marginally better - 17 and 18 marks for papers 1 and 2 respectively.

The computer-aided data base has also enabled the DPI to prepare a Result Analysis Sheet (RAS) for each and every Government school in the State. These sheets have already been sent to all the schools. The RAS will enable each school to have a hard look at its subject-wise performance and devise methods for improvement. The DPI has also instructed the headmasters to get back to him with their comments on the RAS.

The RAS has also brought to light the exceptionally poor performances in certain schools. At the Government HS Porur in Malappuram the average marks for the English papers are 4 and 4. At the Government HS Achoor, in Wayanad, the corresponding marks are 5 and 6. Even in a district such as Ernakulam, the average marks in schools such as Government HS Agatty are very low - 6 and 6.

The Directorate of Public Instruction has identified certain core reasons for the dismal performance of students in the English papers. The very first reason is that there are no English teachers proper, in any Government school. In other words there is no post in any Government school for a teacher of English. So English today is being taught by either the Social Sciences teacher or the science teacher. The very first step that the Government plans to take therefore is to induct those with BA, B.Ed in English to teach the subject in the schools.

However, the Government is not going to wait till this cumbersome process can be completed. Once the new academic year gets underway, special workshops on communicative English will be organised on a State-wide basis. Here, both students and teachers will be exposed to various aspects of learning and teaching English. These workshops will be the first step in identifying those with a natural flair for teaching English. Such teachers will be trained further in camps that would be organised on a education district basis and ultimately at the State-level.

It has also been suggested to the Government that the teaching of English be commenced from the third standard instead of in the fourth standard, which is the current practice. Moreover, the headmasters and the PTAs will also be asked to take a more active role in ensuring that the standard of English teaching and learning go up in the State's Government schools.

The question papers of English will also be scrutinised closely to find out whether the questions on grammar are too esoteric for the tastes of the students. This is also in response to complaints received by the DPI that there is too much of an emphasis on grammar in English paper-1. This year the 50-mark paper-1 had carried grammar-related questions worth 17 marks. In addition to all this, the DPI will continue to supply schools with cassettes containing English language teaching lessons. Additional stress will also be laid on teaching English using audio-visual aids in the classrooms.

The Education Department is however looking beyond a mere improvement in the standard of English in the State's schools. The DPI, Mr. V. P. Joy, has identified four districts - Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasaragod - where the all round performance in the SSLC examination has not quite kept pace with that in the rest of the State. Mr. Joy has, reportedly, proposed to the Government that special attention be given to schools in these districts to ensure better results next time. The attention of the Education Minister has also been drawn to the fact that more than a 1,000 schools in the State have pass percentages below 56 which is the State average.

He is also said to have pointed out to the Government that even a marginally increased performance in the four `weak districts' and in the marks scored in English can cause the SSLC pass percentage to shoot up to 15 to 20 per cent from its present status.

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