Telangana: It's English if only colonial nations teach

Hyderabad: It is one of its kind of classic example of how even after 74 years of British left the country there is a sustained hankering to speak and act like British.

The Telangana State Education Department has proved that it is no exception to this. There are multiple levels of training that are proposed for enhancing the communication and teaching skills in the English language.

According to sources in the Education department, it wants to impart English language skills on par with certified British Universities like Oxford, Cambridge and some American, Canadian and Australian Universities. But what has happened is that it has become foreign-made Indian training.

Sources said that surprisingly these foreign universities which charge huge fees only supply the content, but the trainers are from English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) and other higher educational institutions (HEIs) located within the country. These courses offered with foreign labels were reportedly coming with a higher price tag than the same or similar programmes offered by the EFLU and other higher educational institutions recognised as one among the best in South Asia.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official said that the issue has come to light when State Governor and Chancellor of the State Universities Dr Tamilisai Soundrarajan asked the EFLU vice-chancellor during his recent visit to Raj Bhavan to give hand-holding to the State Universities for improving the quality standards.

Officials said that initially some efforts were made to rope in EFLU and other higher education institutions to train students in programmes related to the English language. A senior IAS official had even sought the services of the EFLU at one point in time. But, for the reasons unknown the same did not materialise.

When asked about it, an official of the Education department said that most of the students go to countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and the like. Maybe they stand a better chance if there was a foreign label over Indian higher education institutions. What is more interesting is that there is no feedback or an impact assessment of the quality of training and skills acquired by those who had taken training by the institutions recognised by Oxford, Cambridge, and British Council.