Growing City 8212; Chandigarh

However, there is an alarming trend that manifests itself in records past, present and, predictably8217;, the future.

We are talking about the pass rate in compulsory English, the one that stymies the paths of nearly 50 percent of the BA/BSC first year examinees every year; shoots down roughly 40 percent of the second year examinees in mid-flight; and even manager to stun nearly 40 percent of the 8220;double-refined8221; final batch . Mind you, the pass rate in other subjects is significantly higher which indicates that one may be good at Punjabi Literature, Music, History etc but being unable to clear the dreaded English compulsory paper, one cannot pursue one8217;s chosen academic course.

But surely, there must be a more reasoned approach to solving the problem, and who better than our seasoned academics to enunciate it ?

Says Sneh Mahajan, Principal, M.C.M. DAV College, 8220;The British introduced compulsory teaching of English to facilitate communication with the natives and to make the task of administration simpler. That it remains a compulsory subject to this day is a sad comment on the inertia of our system of education.8221;

Does it imply that after five decades of independence we can afford to do away with the teaching of English ? No8217;, she adds, 8220;in the absence of any alternative medium of communication between the different parts of our country, English must continue to play its present role, however, as a compulsory subject it should not be taught beyond the plus-2 stage.8221;

But Pushpinder Syal, chairperson of the department of English, Punjab University has a different view. Says she,8220; With increasing globalization, the importance of English as a medium of communication has increased, therefore, it should be taught at the undergraduate level to enable students to secure good jobs.8221;

Most undergraduates students hail from rural areas where English is considered an alien language and the standard of teaching at the school level is extremely poor and thus poses to be a problem.

According to Professor Nijhawan, head of the English department at G.C-II, such a course was introduced some years back under the name, communication skill. It included practical exercises such as drafting notices and telegrams, filling forms etc. However, it suffered from a lack of interesting literary content. A similar course coupled with some light contemporary literature could be of immense use to the average student.

At the same time, it must be said that mere overhaul of the prescribed syllabi will not suffice. As Syal points out, it is equally important to improve the teaching methodology besides making testing more reliable and objective. Unless these changes are brought about, English will remain a stumbling block in the paths of most undergraduates students.

The writer is a B.A. III student of G.CM, Chandigarh.