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2cr Indian kids study in English-medium schools

The last eight years have seen a staggering rise in the number of children studying in English-medium schools across the country. Data on school enrolment for 2010-11 shows that, for the first time, the number of children enrolled in English-medium schools from classes I to VIII has crossed the two crore mark--a 274% rise since 2003-04.


For the fourth year in a row, English is the second-largest medium of instruction in India, ahead of both Bengali and Marathi, according to a yet-to-be released report on country wide school enrolment by the National University of Education, Planning and Administration (NUEPA) under its District Information System for Education (DISE).


“The collection of information under DISE has improved over the years, and now gives a true picture of enrolments by medium of instruction across the country,” says Professor Arun C Mehta of NUEPA. 
While Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and English have all seen a rise in enrolment in 2010-11 compared to the previous year, the rate of increase is highest for English. And while there is an obvious demand for the English language in India, academicians and policy-makers believe state governments are handling this demand in an extremely unimaginative manner.

Posted on 02 Mar 2012