The aftermath of colonialism: Supremacy of English in Indian schools

Abstract

Over the years, a substantial body of literature has emerged that has discussed the centrality of English language for education in the Indian context in order to facilitate local as well as global preparedness. This paper analyses how English was introduced among Indians during the Colonial regime and the significance of English in present times as a subject of study and as the primary medium of instruction and communication in the context of schooling with special reference to an international school in India. Findings from the study reveal that the school not only places enormous emphasis on learning the language; it also promotes itself as an institution that offers better English language skills as compared to other public/private English medium schools and thereby grooms its students to become fluent in the language in order to face the world at large. This paper thus primarily seeks to understand how and why English, once considered to be a foreign language in India continues to be the lingua-franca of certain privileged sections of the society and how an international school in India continues to enhance the significance of English through its system of schooling.