Conditions as English as a second language (ESL) in the Govt. aided schools of West Bengal

Abstract

With a view to increasing student enrolment, decreasing the rate of dropouts, create an exam free atmosphere, enable the learners to earn a sustainable livelihood after learning the concerned regional language and vocational skill, the Govt of India adopted the No-Detention Policy (NDP) in 2009. The Govt of West Bengal introduced the policy in the state in 2010. Ever since its inception, the NDP has been subject to tremendous criticism from the end of the teachers who have always held that it would deteriorate the quality of education because it would generate a lethargy among the students those who work hard for a better result in one hand whereas in the other hand better students would not be properly rewarded. The teachers were feared to become apathetic to various learning issues. Such apprehensions have proved to be true. At the high school, level students are failing miserably. In West Bengal, results start to deteriorate from class 1X, particularly in English. Students get promoted from Class I to Class IX without minimum knowledge of the language. Sometimes they even fail to write their own name correctly in English. Some prescribed texts are miles away from their familiar world. Yet, the pattern of the question paper is such that those students who even don't know to write their names in English manage to score handsome marks in exams. There is no doubt that learning to write one's own name is an activity that has to be covered at the lower primary level. The present paper tries to highlight the pathetic situation of English as the Second Language (ESL) at the Govt aided schools in West Bengal due to the NDP, negligence at the lower primary level and the strange question pattern system.