1. Nitin Nerkar Mumbai 09987040908 nerkar.nitin@gmail.com Page 1
English Medium school or Regional Medium
As the new born infant grows to become kid , the parents are required to take very important
decision i.e. " Whether the kid should be admitted in English Medium school or regional
language"
Akshay's Parents faced the same dilemma when they had to take this decision for their child. As
Akshay's Cousins were admitted in English Medium Schools , Akshay's parents wanted their
child to study in English medium school. Today Akshay is in 10th standard. Till date He never
got more than 50% marks. While his cousins never got below 80%. Well I completely agree with
the view that today , Individual's talent , attitude is more important than marks he get in exams.
The Problem is not that Akshay could not get more than 50%. The Problem is not that He
always stood behind in studies compared to his cousins. The real problem is that he never
grew.
In school, he could not understand half the things that were taught to him. Not because he was
dumb. It is because he was not able to catch up with the English language. At home, everyone
was used to speak in Gujarati and Akshay never got the environment which can help him learn
and speak English.
Seeing the situation of Akshay , Some well wishers of the family advised the parents to take the
child out of English medium school and admit him in Gujarati medium school when he was in
4th standard. But Parents made this a Prestige issue and didn't follow the advices given to
them.
Now the victim is The Child. He is complete confidence less. He does not socialize much. He is
still wondering why he is not at par with his batch mates and all. He has failed twice. Today he is
really worried that he won’t be able to clear board exams and his career will come to an end.
As English has become regular part of Business communication and social communication,
there was nothing wrong that Akshay's Parents wished to have their child to be competent in
English. But they took wrong decisions.
The 1st wrong decision was to admit the child in English Medium School knowing that no one
at home knew even the basic English. They could have got admitted the child in Gujarati
Medium School and the child could have studied English as a subject. Later on He could have
done his Graduation and Post Graduation in English Medium. Just the way I did. I did my
schooling in Gujarati Medium and BBA and MBA in English Medium. Today , I am reasonably
good at English. The good thing happened to me is that I did schooling in Gujarati Language.
My mother tongue.
The 2nd wrong decision of Akshay's parents was to not to shift the child in Gujarati medium
even after realizing that their child is not able to catch up. Their ego was more important than
the child's future.
English is just a language. There is no reason to feel inferior just because you are poor in
English. English is an easy language to learn. You need not know all the words in the dictionary.
You need not know CAT Level English. You can learn the Basic English so that you can
communicate with someone who does not know your mother tongue. In the end what matters is
attitude and aptitude and not your proficiency in particular language.