Bengaluru: According to Google, English is an official or co-official language in nearly 60 countries worldwide. Additionally, it is spoken as a primary or secondary language in over 75 countries and non-sovereign territories. The total number of people who speak English globally exceeds 1.5 billion.
Official Language: Nearly 60 countries use English for administration, education, and legal systems. This includes major nations like India, Pakistan, Singapore, Nigeria, and South Africa, as well as native-speaking countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Highest Number of Speakers: Countries with the largest absolute number of English speakers include the United States (over 300 million) and India (over 260 million). Other major populations reside in Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
European Proficiency: In many European countries where English is not an official language (such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark), a vast majority of the population speaks it fluently as a second language.
The countries that do not generally use English in everyday public and official life can be broken down by those with the lowest native English proficiencies:
East Asia: China (where less than 1% of the population speaks fluent English), Japan, and South Korea.
Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.
Middle East & North Africa: Algeria and Yemen have very low English prevalence.
A minimum of Rs 40,000/- annum: Krishna V Itnal, a septuagenarian Gandhian and former Administrative Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation of india(LIC), settled in Pune, throws light on the prevailing educational scenario: "Mrs Mamata Biswakarma is our honest servant maid. She is from Nepal and lives with her husband. Till last year, like all Nepalees, their two sons aged 6 and 8 were living with their grand parents. Our's is a highly educated society, and naturally Mamata felt that her son's should also get good but English education. She approached a moderate English medium school for admission. She was taken aback when heard that for each child, she should give a minimum of Rs 40,000/- annual fees...
...A few structure of Rs 55, 000/-: With a curiosity to know about a nearby well established school, on search in google, I read that the fee structure in the said school is Rs 55,000/- apart from application form fee of 1,000/-, and also registeration fee with van fee, running to another Rs 20,000/-...
...Rs 20, 000/- each as fees: Smt Shridevi Teganoor, our house maid from Kalaburgi, is in her forties with a label of widowhood. She is totally illiterate but her son studies in the tenth standard, while her daughter is studying in the in eighth standard. Shridevi gives twenty thousand rupees each as fees to her wards...
...Four Corporation Schools to a Private body: Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra is well known for quality education. A decade back the local municipal corporation, introduced English medium in some of the schools to cater to the need of poor and aspirant students. This year, the same corporation, has decided to handover four schools to a private body. The reason offered is that though highly qualified and getting huge salaries, the staff there is unable to teach in English and interestingly they are totally unable to talk in English language...
...Education should be free upto the Primary level: When india gained freedom, Mahatama Gandhi had desired, that like water and air, education should be free upto primary level. Now the common man has come to the conclusion that education means study in English...
...The concept of a socialistic society erased: Any middle class parent, we see them as struggling to arrange funds for fees which runs nearly for fifteen to sixteen years in any pupil's career. The concept of socialistic pattern of society has been erased from our minds by our political rulers. I think, whether it is for Mamata or Shridevi, there appears to be no ray of hope to get out of their struggling economy. Smt Shridevi Teganoor gives another Rs 10, 000/- each as private tuition fees her son and daughter...
...No one goes to Marathi medium school: Though born in a Maharashtrian family in Pune, no boy or girl goes to Marathi medium schools. A decade back I had met Bapu Saheb More, head master of a municipal primary school here. He had then told me that there were around six hundred students in his school whose mother tongue was Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Nepali or Hindi. They were all children of daily wage workers who had no capacity to study in English medium schools. Bapusaheb was telling me that only outsiders and villagers can save Marathi. In fact, the entire staff of the school was well read Maharashtrians...
...No future without education in the English medium: I asked Mrs Mamata Biswakarma why not put her wards to Marathi medium, she assertively tells that wherever good payment opportunities are there, they will move there without bothering about the local language. Two of her neices were in Pune for a decade. Now one has moved to Rajkot and another one to Bengaluru last year. Mrs Shridevi Teganoor is also very firm to say that she was basically a landless lady. On completion of education her children have to move in search of a job to nearby Hyderabad or distant Bengaluru from her present stay of Kalaburgi. One thing is for sure that among illiterates an awareness has come that there is no future without education, and that too in English medium...
...Marathi Ph D degree holders run tea stalls on the highways! Now the fate of Ph. D holders through the Marathi medium is worst. They might have researched in history, geography, political science, sociology or in Marathi literature. But the hardcover fact continues to remain that, no body is getting any job. A news paper carried a story that majority of them are running tea stall on highways!"
Wither native language medium schools: This peculiar adverse predicament, detrimental to the very foundation of education in the native language, is not restricted neither to Pune nor Maharashtra; it's evident across the country and no single state of the country is any exception!
Only to those who cannot afford: Government schools or those run by the civic bodies have no takers by the society, by and large. It is only the wards of parents, who are not able to afford the hefty fees of the English medium schools, going to the government schools!
Attempt to do away with the state run schools: The present Congress regime in Karnataka has been consistent in making its stance known, to close down all the government schools. It all started with the pretext that there has been a significant drop in admissions to the same!
Convent schools mushroom in the rural areas: Contrary to such claims, the foreign language medium schools are mushrooming across the country. Such school management's provide transportation facilities to the kids.
Chauvinists thrive on minting money in the name of local language: The native language medium schools are on the verge of extinction, while politicians belonging to all parties are sitting on coffers, thanks to the educational businesses, they have set up. The government schools lack staff, infrastructure and future;yet chauvinists continue to thrive in the name of local language!
The reach of English varies significantly by region and usage:
Official Language: Nearly 60 countries use English for administration, education, and legal systems. This includes major nations like India, Pakistan, Singapore, Nigeria, and South Africa, as well as native-speaking countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Highest Number of Speakers: Countries with the largest absolute number of English speakers include the United States (over 300 million) and India (over 260 million). Other major populations reside in Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
European Proficiency: In many European countries where English is not an official language (such as the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark), a vast majority of the population speaks it fluently as a second language.
130 to 140 countries do not have English as a widely spoken language: Of the 195 recognised sovereign countries globally, roughly 130 to 140 do not have English as a widely spoken primary or official language and function primarily in their own native languages. While about 58 countries and 28 territories officially use English, the remaining nations rely on other dominant global languages.
The countries that do not generally use English in everyday public and official life can be broken down by those with the lowest native English proficiencies:
East Asia: China (where less than 1% of the population speaks fluent English), Japan, and South Korea.
Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.
Europe: Many Southern and Eastern European countries, including Italy, Spain, Russia, and Turkey.
Middle East & North Africa: Algeria and Yemen have very low English prevalence.
A minimum of Rs 40,000/- annum: Krishna V Itnal, a septuagenarian Gandhian and former Administrative Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation of india(LIC), settled in Pune, throws light on the prevailing educational scenario: "Mrs Mamata Biswakarma is our honest servant maid. She is from Nepal and lives with her husband. Till last year, like all Nepalees, their two sons aged 6 and 8 were living with their grand parents. Our's is a highly educated society, and naturally Mamata felt that her son's should also get good but English education. She approached a moderate English medium school for admission. She was taken aback when heard that for each child, she should give a minimum of Rs 40,000/- annual fees...
...A few structure of Rs 55, 000/-: With a curiosity to know about a nearby well established school, on search in google, I read that the fee structure in the said school is Rs 55,000/- apart from application form fee of 1,000/-, and also registeration fee with van fee, running to another Rs 20,000/-...
...Rs 20, 000/- each as fees: Smt Shridevi Teganoor, our house maid from Kalaburgi, is in her forties with a label of widowhood. She is totally illiterate but her son studies in the tenth standard, while her daughter is studying in the in eighth standard. Shridevi gives twenty thousand rupees each as fees to her wards...
...Four Corporation Schools to a Private body: Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra is well known for quality education. A decade back the local municipal corporation, introduced English medium in some of the schools to cater to the need of poor and aspirant students. This year, the same corporation, has decided to handover four schools to a private body. The reason offered is that though highly qualified and getting huge salaries, the staff there is unable to teach in English and interestingly they are totally unable to talk in English language...
...Education should be free upto the Primary level: When india gained freedom, Mahatama Gandhi had desired, that like water and air, education should be free upto primary level. Now the common man has come to the conclusion that education means study in English...
...The concept of a socialistic society erased: Any middle class parent, we see them as struggling to arrange funds for fees which runs nearly for fifteen to sixteen years in any pupil's career. The concept of socialistic pattern of society has been erased from our minds by our political rulers. I think, whether it is for Mamata or Shridevi, there appears to be no ray of hope to get out of their struggling economy. Smt Shridevi Teganoor gives another Rs 10, 000/- each as private tuition fees her son and daughter...
...No one goes to Marathi medium school: Though born in a Maharashtrian family in Pune, no boy or girl goes to Marathi medium schools. A decade back I had met Bapu Saheb More, head master of a municipal primary school here. He had then told me that there were around six hundred students in his school whose mother tongue was Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Nepali or Hindi. They were all children of daily wage workers who had no capacity to study in English medium schools. Bapusaheb was telling me that only outsiders and villagers can save Marathi. In fact, the entire staff of the school was well read Maharashtrians...
...No future without education in the English medium: I asked Mrs Mamata Biswakarma why not put her wards to Marathi medium, she assertively tells that wherever good payment opportunities are there, they will move there without bothering about the local language. Two of her neices were in Pune for a decade. Now one has moved to Rajkot and another one to Bengaluru last year. Mrs Shridevi Teganoor is also very firm to say that she was basically a landless lady. On completion of education her children have to move in search of a job to nearby Hyderabad or distant Bengaluru from her present stay of Kalaburgi. One thing is for sure that among illiterates an awareness has come that there is no future without education, and that too in English medium...
...Marathi Ph D degree holders run tea stalls on the highways! Now the fate of Ph. D holders through the Marathi medium is worst. They might have researched in history, geography, political science, sociology or in Marathi literature. But the hardcover fact continues to remain that, no body is getting any job. A news paper carried a story that majority of them are running tea stall on highways!"
Wither native language medium schools: This peculiar adverse predicament, detrimental to the very foundation of education in the native language, is not restricted neither to Pune nor Maharashtra; it's evident across the country and no single state of the country is any exception!
Only to those who cannot afford: Government schools or those run by the civic bodies have no takers by the society, by and large. It is only the wards of parents, who are not able to afford the hefty fees of the English medium schools, going to the government schools!
Attempt to do away with the state run schools: The present Congress regime in Karnataka has been consistent in making its stance known, to close down all the government schools. It all started with the pretext that there has been a significant drop in admissions to the same!
Convent schools mushroom in the rural areas: Contrary to such claims, the foreign language medium schools are mushrooming across the country. Such school management's provide transportation facilities to the kids.
Chauvinists thrive on minting money in the name of local language: The native language medium schools are on the verge of extinction, while politicians belonging to all parties are sitting on coffers, thanks to the educational businesses, they have set up. The government schools lack staff, infrastructure and future;yet chauvinists continue to thrive in the name of local language!
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