YSRCP’s ‘rebel’ Lok Sabha MP Raghurama Krishna Raju, who was highly critical of the move to implement English medium in government schools and sought the central government’s intervention in ensuring education in mother tongue in primary classes, feels his stand is vindicated.
He continued with his tongue-in-cheek comments. On Thursday, he took potshots at Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy stating his government’s move to implement English medium in government schools had gained wide popularity so much so that it had caught the attention of the central government which had decided
Stating that it was a fallacy to think that progress could be achieved only if education was pursued in English, Raju noted that in China ‘Mandarin’ is by far the world’s most widely spoken language, with close to a billion native speakers.
“In a population of over 140 crore in China, at least 90 crore people speak in Mandarin. Mandarin as the official language of China. Spanish is the world’s second-most spoken native language after Mandarin. Spanish is the official language in at least 20 nations. Spanish is spoken by 4.85 percent of the world’s population and its use is even more widespread than English. English is followed by Hindi as the most spoken language in the world. All the world countries want their population to speak in their native language. This is the top priority of most governments across the world,” Raju pointed out.
The ‘rebel’ YSRCP MP stressed the need for giving a special thrust to the respective official language by every state government and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy also should follow the same policy.
“Mother tongue denotes the identity, culture and traditions of people in different states in India. Every state should follow the central government policy. Andhra Pradesh should respect Telugu language and desist from imparting education in English medium at primary level,” Raju pointed out. He stressed the need to impart education in the mother tongue up to primary school in line with the central government’s policy.
Raju’s comments come in the wake of Union Cabinet’s approval to the New Education Policy (NEP) that makes the medium of instruction in primary classes compulsory in mother tongue, local language or regional language in primary classes up to Class V. At the Union Cabinet meeting, it was decided that English could be optional up to Class 8.
The YSRCP MP has not been seeing eye-to-eye with several Jagan’s policies, including the implementation of English medium in government schools. As a matter of fact, he had raised the issue in Parliament seeking protection of Telugu language and Centre’s intervention in ensuring teaching in mother tongue in primary classes. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy took a serious view as this flew in the face of his government’s decision to introduce English medium in government schools for classes I to VI.
The Jagan government had issued a show-cause notice against Raju and later moved a disqualification petition before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Vijaysai Reddy had mentioned Raju’s opposition to the government’s move to implement English medium as one of the critical anti-party activities. However, Raju’s stated position for opposing English medium in government schools was on the ground that it is anti-Constitutional. Raju had stated, “My opposition to English medium in government schools was to uphold the spirit of the Constitution of India. Nothing can be above the Constitution of India, whether a political party or its manifesto.”
The Union Cabinet decision and Raju’s comments come at a time Jagan Mohan Reddy and his team are preparing to introduce English as a medium of education in the state’s government schools at primary level. A petition was filed in the Andhra Pradesh High Court by Sudheesh Rambhotla and Guntupalli Srinivas. The petitioners had appealed to the court to declare the said GO as ultra vires of the provisions of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and violative of Articles 14, 21 and 21-A of the Constitution.
Subsequently, the Jagan government suffered a major setback with the High Court striking down G.O. Ms No.85 which made English medium education compulsory from classes I to VI in primary, upper primary and high schools under all managements from 2020-21. It was to be gradually extended to each further class from the next consequent academic years. However, the Andhra Pradesh government filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court challenging the HC verdict on its plan to introduce English as medium of instruction from classes I to Class VI in government schools.
