Chandigarh to China: Schools to teach Mandarin

Chinese is to be introduced as one of the four optional languages for students of senior secondary in Punjab’s government schools. It will be optional along with French, German and Italian in Class 11th. It is for the first time that foreign languages, especially Mandarin (a dialect of Chinese), will be taught to students. “This to augment more employment opportunities for the youth from the state, which witnesses a high rate of youth migration to different countries. It will also ensure that they are not duped by agencies abroad,” said an official.

The optional languages will be introduced on a pilot basis, even as the state struggles with staggering number of students unable to pass English examinations, partly due to shortage of specialized English teachers in the state. In comparison to an estimate of 6,000 English teachers required, roughly 2,000 have been appointed after 2008. 

Former Education Minister Daljeet Cheema says, “There’s never been a specialized post for English teachers in government schools in Punjab. Social Science teachers have been teaching English. But times have changed.”

In the recent Board examinations, 70,000 students from Class 10th could not clear English, and 77,000 from Class 12th.

The dismal results have now pushed for a policy intervention. The government will recruit only English teachers for every vacant Social Science teacher post.