Government Schools Must Teach English, Says PM MODI Appointed Panel In Report

NEW DELHI:  People from the poorest section of the society feel that English is an avenue for better life and want the government schools to teach this language to their students from the beginning, a Group of Secretaries set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in its report. It has also made a number of other recommendations like favouring detention policy in various classes and making yoga or sports a part of education curriculum for better physical development of children, sources said here today.

In its report to the Prime Minister, the Group has reflected the aspirations of the poor parents who cannot afford to send their wards to private schools which are 'English medium' and feel their children are deprived because government schools do not teach English from the beginning level, the sources said. Sharing the inputs received from parents of such downtrodden sections, the Group of Secretaries recommended that English should be taught in government schools from the beginning level, they said.

It suggested ways to raise skill development levels to global standards. The panel also favoured detention at various levels to raise learning levels, the sources said. 

The Secretaries were of the view that due to 'no- detention' policy currently in place, even the students who learn nothing are promoted, which is not right for their development, they said. 

The HRD ministry is already reviewing this policy presribed in the Right to Education (RTE) Act as per which children cannot be failed till class VIII.

With regard to physical development of students, the Group has suggested integrating of yoga or sports with the education curriculum as 'physical education'.

The panel is also learnt to have suggested that India should participate in tests like Programme for International Students' Assessment (PISA) to gauge learning outcomes and should not get discouraged if the rankings are not favourable.

It was pointed out during the meeting that Indian students have earlier participated in PISA