Stress on English at Presi varsity

Updated on: Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The initial euphoria over, now it’s time to get down to some serious planning for Presidency University. While on the one hand the state higher education department has set up a search committee for selecting the first vice-chancellor of the university, on the other, the department has started a dialogue with all important stakeholders of the erstwhile Presidency College as to how the university should shape up.

An all-round demand for better teaching-learning in English has already started and be it the alumni, the present and past teachers or members of the board of governors of the erstwhile college, everyone’s pressing for better English. The refrain is that the dream of making Presidency University a world class centre of learning will remain a distant dream till students are able to converse fluently in English or every student is able to write their answer scripts in English.

Corporate houses that have been visiting the College Street campus for placements have time and again told the college management that while the students are extremely sound as far as subject-based knowledge is concerned, they often do not fit into corporate roles because of lack of grooming and language skills.

“Yes it has always been a cause of concern for us. Our students need to have better English language skills to cope with corporate demands of today. And now that we are a university, this has become imperative. Though this is at a nascent stage now, with the help of the English department we might chalk out a course that will have to be compulsorily taken by everybody in the university who has not studied higher level English. This course will be designed to improve both speaking and writing skills,” said principal of the college, Amitava Chatterjee.

The board of governors of the erstwhile college will perhaps meet for the last time on August 30 and pass a resolution on the issue. Members of the board feel the fact that a large number of students still write their answers in Bengali in the university exams and that most professors teach in Bengali in class should stop immediately.

“We are talking about a university of international standards where the medium of instruction should only be English. Now that the university will have the power to frame its own rules, it should strictly stop students from writing their papers in Bengali or teachers from teaching in any other language but English. We will send our resolution to the state higher education department,” said Amal Mukhopadhyay, former principal of the college and a member of the board of governors.

Some of the most illustrious teachers are of the same opinion. Prasanta Ray, one of the best known teachers of sociology of the college, for example, feels that since the college is now a university in its own right, it can do away with the “legacy” of teaching and writing in Bengali, else the whole effort will go waste.

“Central universities as a rule do not allow this and I have seen that even in Patna, students who get admission to central universities enrol themselves for special English coaching so that they can start writing their answers in English. So why can’t Presidency University do that?” Ray asked.

State higher education minister, Sudarshan Roychowdhury said: “I am happy that such illustrious people are debating and discussing how to create a world class university out of Presidency. I am open to all such suggestions.” (TNN)

Stress on English at Presi varsity

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