Response to Goolbai

The article in the Sunday Island of August 27 by Goolbai Gunasekera (GG) on “High cost of scuttling English language skills we once had” cannot be allowed to pass without a comment or two. We salute GG and her mother Clara Motwani who have done immense service in the field of education in this country to the restricted society they were able to serve.

‘Scuttling’ can be considered deliberate destruction. (Editor’s note: The headline was not GG’s). No one has ever deliberately destroyed English education, which was available to an acceptable standard only to a minority in this country. The vast majority, the proletariat had no such access.

It was once reported that in the late forties, that when an Inspector of Schools asked a student in a rural school a question in English, the reply was in broken English. The inspector retorted:, “roti lunumiris kana umbalata mona ingrisitha bolaw. Later this particular student went to a night school, polished his English, and went on to be a world-renowned history professor!

The English education that was available to a few was not available to the vast majority. Thus they were deprived of top posts. The Sinhala and Tamil educated majority had to be satisfied with the lesser posts, despite their being clever and capable.

The change in language policy, with a switch to Swabhasha, meaning one’s own language – (not Sinhala only, which is a political canard) while English continued to be taught. This enabled the Sinhala and Tamil-educated youth in the remote areas of the country to enter the higher echelons of emloyment. This was a necessary step to correct a social anomaly; if not for this move, the 1971 youth uprising would have taken place earlier.

GG quotes the success of Shehan Karunatilleka and Kanya D’Almeida. It should be remembered that both had their education in top schools and more so, they came from homes where the home language was mostly English.

Another instance of benefit to all students (both Sinhala and Tamil) coming from remote areas, is doing away with the compulsory credit pass in English at the ordinary level examination in order to qualify for biology at the advanced level. If not for this change, many of our doctors would not be in the medical profession today.

Tara de Mel (coming from a home with an English background) was the Secretary, of Education in the CBK regime. What social change in education was she able to achieve?

Saying Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists are scuttling English education, to say the least, is an unkind remark. Talking of world usage of Sinhala and Tamil, again it should be remembered there is a culture that goes along with a language.

Our students going to China, Russia etc. learn the language of those countries in six months and are proficient in following professional training in those languages. Surely cannot we adopt some method, with so many Teacher Training Colleges, Universities with English departments, and private and International schools available, to enable the uplift the standard of all-round education?

PRO BONO PUBLICO