Regional Institute of English is dying, needs help

In the midst of such deterioration comes yet another controversy — over the appointment of a new director. The directorship, which has been customarily rotated among the various southern states, should now go to a person hailing from Karnataka. The five-year term of the present director from Tamil Nadu, P Felix, ended on October 31. However, Institute sources fear that Felix may get an extension from the Institute’s Board of Governors, headed by the Education Secretary and representatives from all Southern States.

Clearly there is a lobby within the Institute that opposes extensions and feels that it is only fair that a Kannadiga be made director, since it is Karnataka’s turn this time. But such hopes are likely to be belied, say insiders.

However, after 35 years of existence, this premier institution is reportedly on its death bed. Though there has been no dearth of funds, it is alleged that the institution has touched rock bottom, qualitatively speaking, following a lack of vision by those who headed it in recent decades.

The initial years had seen the Institute turn into a high profile academic institution. But all that has changed and in recent times its very existence has been threatened by a lack of leadership. This, at an Institute that has had its full share of laurels.

From a humble beginning in June 1963 under a thatched roof on Cunningham Road, it later moved to the Rs 5 million university campus at Jnanabharathi. By the time it crossed its silver jubilee year in 1988, it had reached 1,600 teachers through its 31 short-term courses in English Language Teaching (ELT).

Besides this, the Institute has trained stenographers and personnel for the Karnataka High Court, held six distance education programmes (IGNOU came later) and provided language training for such diverse institutions as the Air Force Training Command, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti besides various universities and colleges. By its 25th year it had published 25 journals. The Institute once had lofty objectives. It was established to improve the standard of English language teaching in primary and secondary schools in the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka besides training teachers, organising and facilitating conferences and seminars and preparing suitable textbooks, guidance and other materials for teachers at various levels. But in recent years this has seldom happened. Not that the funds are insufficient, but the leadership obviously was indifferent. So say the staff and others associated with the Institute.

Yet every year each state in South India contributes at least Rs 8 lakh for running the Institute.

Meanwhile, the Institute has a long list of unfulfilled objectives. A year after its silver jubilee a Review Committee headed by Dr S K Desai, former Kuvempu University Vice Chancellor, recommended a change in its name besides several other structural changes.

“In view of the availability of excellent resources and infrastructure at the Institute, for providing higher learning in English language education to teachers in the region, we recommend that immediate steps be initiated to obtain for the Institute the status of a Centre for Higher Learning enabling it to conduct post-MA level diploma and M Phil courses in English language teaching.” But this was never implemented.