In what can be seen as a complete defiance of the High Court which had scrapped the GO of the state government to make English medium compulsory in schools, Minister of Education Dr Adimulapu Suresh said the Jagan government was committed in implementing compulsory education in English medium of instruction in all government schools.
Hours after the High Court verdict, the minister addressing a press conference said, “Our leader Jagan is a man of his word, he won’t go back on his word. The state government has been very serious about implementing compulsory education in English medium in government schools. The government announced that only classes 1 to 6 would be converted to English medium in the first phase. We have trained teachers too,” he said.
Stating that the court verdict should not be seen either as victory or defeat, the minister said the education ministry was yet to receive a copy of the judgement. However, he said the legal department of the state government will evaluate the judgement and come up with a plan without mentioning if the court verdict will be challenged by the state government.
However, it is learnt that the state government held extensive consultations on Wednesday on its future “plan” of action. Obviously, they decided to move the apex court. This comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh continues to see a surge of corona crisis with the state registering 514 cases. Sadly, the YSRCP leaders seem to be more bothered about elections to civic bodies and rather busier on how to further nail the former State Election Commissioner after first sacking him from his office. Call it ego or arrogance, the state government seems to be interested in legal wrangles
At the media conference, the Education Minister buttressed the government’s point that making education in English medium of instruction compulsory in government schools will give equal access to children from socio-economically disadvantaged communities and an opportunity to compete in competitive world. He said while making English medium compulsory, Telugu medium will also be continued.
Hailing the High Court’s verdict to scrap the GO to make English education compulsory, senior TDP leader and former social welfare minister Nakka Anand Babu on Wednesday said the YSRCP ruling has set a record of sorts in the country by losing a series of court battles in a short time.
In a statement, the senior TDP leader said the Jagan-led government had lost 55 cases in the last 11 months which is a record set by any state government in losing court cases. “The High Court verdict should serve as a slap on the face of the YSRCP leadership. Three months back, our party’s council members in the Assembly opposed the Bill. However, the Assembly passed the Bill rejecting our proposals,” Anand Babu said.
The state government’s decision to make English medium instruction mandatory drew sharp criticism from various quarters and saw severe opposition from various political parties, but the government went ahead to amend the AP Education Act, 1982, and passed a Bill to incorporate the necessary provisions related to English medium of instruction.
Hearing a petition was filed by BJP leader Sudish Rambhotla and Guntupalli Srinivas, the High Court on Wednesday struck down the GOs 81, 85 to make English the compulsory medium of instruction in all government schools. The petitioners questioned the state government over the legality of the move to make English medium mandatory. The decision to make English medium instruction mandatory had stirred a hornet’s nest in Andhra Pradesh with some arguing that such a move will hurt the Telugu language while Dalit groups contended such a move will give equal access to English medium education to children from socio-economically disadvantaged communities.
Despite the criticism and opposition, the Jagan led AP government had issued a GO making English medium compulsory from class 1 to 8 in all government schools from the academic year 2020-21. After continued opposition, the government announced that only classes 1 to 6 would be converted to English medium in the first phase, adding one class to English medium in each subsequent year. The government even conducted a survey among parents who were asked to fill in form to choose between ‘English medium with Telugu as a compulsory subject’ or ‘Telugu medium’.
