With English becoming a preferred language as a medium of education, the Manohar lal Khattar Government in Haryana has decided to introduce English as a medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science in the Government-run schools.
To begin with, the Haryana Government has decided to allow Hindi as well as English medium to study Mathematics and Science in class 9th in the state -run schools.
The decision has been taken to improve the quality of education in government schools besides giving stress on learning English language, alongside the mother tongue.
Similar decisions to introduce English as a medium of instructions in government-run schools have been taken this year by many State Governments including in neighboring Punjab.
This year, Haryana Government has also initiated another pilot project of teaching English in UKG and lKG classes in 119 schools across the state.
“The State Government will introduce English medium to study Mathematics and Science in class 9th in the government-run schools during the current academic session,” said a senior officer of the Education Department.
The officer said that initially, the state Education Department has decided that government schools with more than 120 students in class 9th would adopt English language to study Mathematics and Science.
“As there is a shortage of teachers in the government-run schools, the PGTs (Post Graduate Teachers) who are teaching Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths, will teach the selected 9th class students in English medium in the two subjects. An order in this regard has been sent to all district education officers and block education officers across the state,” he added.
For the implementation of the decision, the state Education Department has also sought details from DEOs and BEOs of such schools and number of students to study in English medium. Stressing the need of introducing English language as a medium of instruction, the order issued by Education Department to DEOs and BEOs also stated, “Since students face difficulty studying in English medium in class 11th in medical and non-medical streams, it has been decided to introduce English medium to teach Mathematics and Science for the students in class 9th during the current academic session.”
“The decision will be implemented in schools with more than 120 students’ strength or four sections in class 9th. Separate budget will be allocated to schools for buying English medium books in the respective subjects,” the order added.
Notably, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2017 had pointed out poor reading skills in the students of Haryana. “About 22 percent teens cannot read English sentences and 33.3 percent cannot read and understood even three out of four written instructions. Also, only 11.4 percent youth aged 14-18 could read English words and 10.6 percent can read small letter or below in Haryana’s Sonipat district, chosen for the survey,” as per the ASER 2017 report.