English medium for tots must: Parents

Adilabad /Karimnagar: Parents are demanding the government to introduce English medium education right from the pre-primary level in state-run schools as part of its promise of KG-to-PG free education. The government so far not introduced kindergarten in the government primary schools.

Parents from economically backward sections say that they are forced to spend up to Rs 25,000 per child annually if they send their kids to private English medium schools. This, they say, is an avoidable burden, if only the state government introduces English medium right from the primary school levels.

For most parents, sending their child to an English medium school is a matter of prestige. This social pressure is forcing even poor families to give their child education in English medium schools.

The state government has failed to create infrastructure for pre-primary schooling at government schools though it is moving towards shifting Anganwadis into government schools.

Anganwadi workers are opposing the shifting Anganwadis into government school premises by upgrading them as pre-primary schools fearing that the ultimate goal is winding up the system altogether by merging it with school education.

The government is also encouraging the residential education system instead introducing English medium in existing state-run schools. However, there are a limited number of seats in residential schools unlike in day schools, hence and only a few students get admissions.

Overall, there has been a marked improvement in the educational standards and food in residential schools when compared to earlier.

The competition to get admission into these residential schools is fierce, some even conduct admission tests.

Parent S. Venkatesh of Adilabad town who has admitted his two children in private schools said he was ready to shift them to a government school if English medium is introduced. He wondered why parents should spend '25,000 per child for English medium.