Official State Languages query

[gail at utxvms.cc.utexas.edu]

Thanks, I need to find out more about avenues for opening such 
experimental schools.

Gail Coelho

On Wed, 21 Aug 1996, Pullat Devadas "Das" Menon wrote:

> There are a number of 'experimental' schools in India that does not conform
> to the official syllabus. THese schools generallu cater for students upto
> "eighth standard". From 8th onwards these students transfer to a 'normal'
> school and continue their education so that they can get a paper certificate
> for the 10th etc.
> 
> This 'transfer' to a standard school is strictly an arrangement between the
> experimental school and the standard school (as long as the school is a
> private school) at the discreeetion of the school principal. There might be
> an entrance  test to gauge at whether the student can go into 8th itself or
> at what level.
> 
> One school that comes to my mind is the Mirambika school run by the
> Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi, The medium here is English, but they do not
> follow any formal syllabus. The other school is the one started by Jiva
> Institute in Faridabad (Hariyana) in 94.
> 
> So I feel that it is quite possible to have a school that is different, but
> it must have built in hooks so that the student can move over to a standard
> school for the purpose of certification which is a requirement for jobs.
> Such a hook necessarily will have to be one of the official languages that
> is a medium of instruction in these standard schools. 
> 
> India unfortunately have quite a few obstacles to get admission to official
> schools. To cite a personal example, my daughter has been refused
> consideration even to appear for an entrance examination to std. VII at
> Lawrence School Sanawar because she is 12 years old. They say she is too
> old!. This has more to do with the fact that Lawrence School is a govt.
> school which prescribes certain age for certain class. 
> 
> Das
> 
> >
> >Right, the problem is not of a law prohibiting such schools, but of
> >official recognition of them. We cant just start schools in an ad hoc
> >manner, they have to be officially registered as schools. Further,
> >students have to pass an officially recognised public examination at the
> >end of the 10th grade, but at present these are held only in the national
> >and state languages.  Holding them in other languages would require
> >official recognition of them as mediums of instruction. Even at the level
> >of the elementary school, my impression is that if a child hypothetically
> >spent her first 6 years of education in a 'school' where the medium of
> >instruction is Tulu and then transferred to another school run in an
> >official langauge, those initial years would not be recognised as formal
> >schooling and the child would probably be ineligible to enter the new
> >school in the 7th grade. But I'm not sure about this.
> >
> >I'd like to hear from you about these political issues. I hope eventually 
> >to work on starting an elementary school in an adivasi language spoken in 
> >my hometown, but I'm still inexperienced about the issue.
> >
> >Gail Coelho.
> >
> >
> 
>