Can Engineering in mother tongue reap rich dividends – Times of India

On being asked if AICTE needs to rethink its implementation goals, Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE, tells Education Times that the new academic session is yet to begin, hence it would be judicious to assess the enrolment figures at that point in time. “Presently, as many as 29 colleges have been selected by AICTE to impart Engineering courses in mother tongue out of which 10 new colleges have been added to the list. Their performance is best assessed when the new academic session begins. While it is easy to be pessimistic about the learning outcomes, why is no one talking about the Pimpri College of Engineering in Pune which has had 100% admissions for Engineering in the native language. Any new initiative takes time to evolve, and we have to give it the requisite time for it to mature.”

A senior IIT faculty on the condition of anonymity, however, has a different opinion on the subject. The question, he says, arises as to where do students go after they graduate with BTech in the regional language. “Even if they aspire to GATE, it is important to have more than a passing acquaintance with English. Those applying for PhD programmes will also have trouble accessing reputed journals and publications since 99% of them are in the English language. Should they seek IT jobs, and there is a large percentage vying for them, the training in cities like Bangalore, which is an IT hub, is in English, and not in Bihar.”

He suggests the need for bridge courses at the undergraduate level to help students make an early transition to English as the medium of instruction. “This whole concept of treating English as a foreign language must be removed. Since India is not investing enough in Science & Technology, imparting Engineering education in 13 native languages will degrade the higher education quality. Even countries like Germany that were earlier offering MTech courses in their native tongue, are now offering their courses in English as they realise the advantages of attracting international students and making their programmes globally relevant,” the faculty says.

Priya Ranjan, professor, ECE, Bhubaneswar Institute of Technology (BIT), Infovalley, Harapur, Bhubaneswar, however, is in favour of indigenisation of technical education, claiming, 44% students want Engineering to be taught in their mother tongue with Tamil students topping the list. “Students comprehend best in their native language, hence AICTE’s initiative calls for immediate implementation. The instruction and courses in the native language has to be introduced in a phased manner starting with 10% in the first year and going up to 40% in the final year. The government should provide training facilities, funds, conferences and special programmes for localisation of the subjects,” Priya Ranjan says.

He explains that so far, there has been a lot of discussions and debates, but not much of practical implementation at the ground level. “Even the IITs are not thinking of providing instructions in regional languages, which is why there has not been much headway in the area. Institutes imparting Engineering in native languages should also not lose sight of English as a foreign language. Students should be conversant in written and spoken English in which case its knowledge and comprehension will not be a challenge,” he adds.