Abolishing English in schools: implications for higher education in West Bengal

Abstract

In 1982, the then ruling Left Front government in West Bengal (India) abolished the teaching of English from its primary schools. The move led to a high-pitched controversy over the social importance of teaching English, and when and how it should be taught. The main arguments in favour of the decision were to confront the elitism inherent in giving primacy to a “foreign” language and to promote higher enrolment and reduce drop-out rates. Those opposed to the decision spoke of redrawing class maps and the difficulties of negotiating a nation of many languages with fluency in only one regional language. Over the years, there were more complex arguments; moreover, demand for English among the rural poor led to a greater demand for private schools or private tuition. The abolition of English was accompanied by major interventions in Bangla language-teaching, which were also hotly debated within the academy. Twenty-five years later, in 2007, a new-look Left Front government sought to reverse the decision and re-introduce English into primary schools. There was opposition within the government from those who had been votaries of the previous decision. The reversal was endorsed by government, however, despite vocal protests. This paper revisits some of the arguments attending this policy flip-flop. It argues that these arguments have wider significance for language policy in higher education in West Bengal, and that they also resonate in other contexts with strong traditions in regional languages.