Education : Overcoming the two obstacles
There are, no
doubt, many signs and evidences that indicate that we are advancing in education, but nonetheless we cannot deny the existence of some negative things that hinder progress in this sector. Two such major barriers are lack of quality education
available to
students in English and Mathematics
Mohammad Rukanuddin
Many meritorious students studying science subjects in the tertiary level classes are very often found faltering and struggling and even failing to do well in their academic studies because of not having required proficiency in the English language. They cannot express even basic scientific phenomena in simple English. Only the few who have mastered the linguistic technicalities of English, which is the medium of instructions in almost all the universities in the country, can cope up with the studies.
They are far more ahead in academic as well as professional life compared to those who lack in linguistic capability. A graduate in any discipline with linguistic proficiency earns several times more than those who are deficient linguistically.
Moreover, there are many students who passed higher secondary level examinations with outstanding grades, but seriously lack in the strong foundations in mathematics and scientific studies for the tertiary level studies in science discipline. As a consequence, among those who aspire to study science subjects like medicine, engineering, aeronautics, physics, chemistry and so on, fail to qualify even for the entrance examinations of these disciplines.
Furthermore, despite being extraordinarily meritorious in mathematics and scientific knowledge, many students are not up to their level in explaining mathematical and scientific facts analytically in English. There are ample examples of people having obtained excellent grades in their bachelors and masters programs, who fail to write a research paper in English of moderate length, which is required for his/her promotion or further studies in the academic workplace, independently and confidently. This causes them lag behind in the race of life keeping their dreams unfulfilled.
Again, in standardized tests like SAT or, IELTS or, TOEFL, GMAT or GRE which is a requirement for admissions to various university programs and scholarships in USA, Canada, Australia and other countries, many of our students, although they have outstanding academic records, fail to qualify. These tests measure students ability to communicate in English, mathematical skills, analytical reasoning skills and academic aptitude. What are the reasons behind their failure? The main reasons are - (a) they are not capable of analyzing mathematical or scientific phenomena (b) they lack in the English language proficiency required for articulating their knowledge.
They fail because their merit or genius is not given opportunity to flourish mathematically and linguistically through appropriate teaching and guidance. In order to build up a workforce that is needed for making our country developed educationally, economically, and industrially, we ought to nurture the meritorious students of the land appropriately. For this they should be equipped with learning English and mathematics upto the minimum required levels. Otherwise, the heavy amount of money and valuable time that are being spent by the parents of millions of students across the country will end up in huge wastage.
It is interesting to note that in England, one of the highly developed regions of the world and the home of the English language took a drastic step in requiring their GCSE examinees to learn English and Mathematics. Since 2013, they have made it mandatory that if any GCSE examinee fails to obtain at least C in mathematics or English in the final examination, he/she will have to go back to school for studying these subjects to improve their grades to C. Along with this policy they adopted a programme to increase the number of English and mathematics teachers in their secondary level institutions. Supporting the government policy, a senior policy manager at the Association of Colleges, UK proposed that they needed efficient teachers who know the know-how of teaching Mathematics and English, not those who have just university degrees.
With the crucial end of developing our students English and Mathematics in view, we should provide our secondary and higher secondary schools with adequate number of well-trained teachers for the two vitally important subjects: Mathematics and English. Teachers having only university credentials do not always make good teachers because having degrees in particular subjects mean having information or knowledge in those subjects. Having knowledge in those subjects is not enough for an individual to impart knowldege to students. The person needs appropriate training on the expertise of teaching the subject he/she has studied. This is why it is mandatory in most of the developed countries even in India to have teacher eduation for being a teacher there. Training in any profession empowers the concerened professionals, and the trained professionals can perform their duties confidently and efficiently proving them to be the asset of the nation they belong to.
The writer is Assistant Professor of English at Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology, Dhaka
