English made easy

AID India hopes to make English more accessible to the urban and rural poor in Tamil Nadu

A report on project ‘English Next India', funded by the British Council, has found that India is lagging behind China in the number of proficient English speakers. The report's initial findings suggest a number of barriers to the improvement of English proficiency in India, including a huge shortage of English teachers, and poor English holding back higher education.

Initial findings advise that a variety of strategies need to be employed to teach English; that there is no one magic solution. AID India founder and CEO, Balaji Sampath, is indirectly taking up the British Council on its advice. However, the education activist is looking at bringing about a change on a much smaller scale.

Through its flagship initiative, ‘Eureka Child', AID India aims to “provide quality education for every child in Tamil Nadu”, which includes making English more accessible to underprivileged children in urban and rural areas. “There is a big gap in education between the rich kids in English-medium schools and underprivileged kids in Government schools,” says Sampath.

Full report here Hindu