Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has come up with a new formula to put the state on the global investment map.
Govt aims at giving people a cutting edge in global market
NEW DELHI/AHEMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has come up with a new formula to put the state on the global investment map. Empower youths and also those not so young with the English language to give them a competitive edge "so that they can transfer their ideas to anybody in the world".
For once, the RSS has no problem with the move to promote English. It is in fact appreciating the decision. Former RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told DNA, "Our insistence on imparting education in mother tongue is for primary classes. But the focus is on higher education and creation of job opportunities where certain skills are considered important. If in today's world, proficiency is English is essential then why should RSS have a problem with that?"
Modi has created a new state-run organisation, 'Society for Creation of Opportunity through Proficiency in English' (SCOPE)', for the purpose. His government eagerness to improve spoken and writing skills of all Gujratis below 35 years at a nominal cost is clear from the fact that it is opening over 1,000 institutes across the state.
In a statement released by the Gujarat government, Modi is quoted to have said: “We can not accept the dominance of English but we can't accept the ignorance of it also. We are obliged to help our youths.”
"The youths of Gujarat will develop proficiency in English through SCOPE so that they can transfer their ideas to anybody in the world without hesitation. To place Gujarat on the global map, our youth should have the capacity to communicate with the world in the language, which they best understand," he said.
Instead of using school and college teachers, the state government has outsourced the project. While private institutes charge Rs 12,000 for basic skills in English, the government-run centres would charge one-tenth of that amount. “To avoid economic exploitation by private institutions, SCOPE is the solution,” an official said.
Modi also offered an olive branch to the Swadeshi brigade by opening a Sanskrit university. “I am a culture loving person, but I cannot detach myself from the currents of the world. Maharshi Arvind was a scholar of Sanskrit, Swami Vivekananad was the cultural torchbearer of our nation. But they impressed and influenced the world because of their command over the English language,” Modi said.
However, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) said the move was a publicity stunt. “The state machineries will be used to handle the classes of SCOPE. So why should they take Rs 1,200 from the students?" asked S Gohel, spokesperson, GPCC.
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