English to be introduced from Class 1 in non-English medium Gujarat schools

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat government on Thursday said that in the upcoming year, English will be introduced from Class 1 to ensure that students of Gujarati and other non-English medium schools become more conversant in the language and don’t face problems in the future.

Currently, basic English is introduced from Class 4 in Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Tamil medium schools affiliated to the state education department. "We have decided to introduce English from Class 1 in all schools, except English medium ones. Students of Classes 1 and 2 will be given basic knowledge of the language. We want students to get familiarised with the subject and develop listening and speaking skills," state education minister Jitu Vaghani said in the Assembly.

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There won't be any textbooks. Only teachers will get guidance material, he said. Speaking to reporters after the House proceedings, Vaghani said the decision to familiarise students with basic English from the beginning is in line with the suggestions made in the new National Education Policy, which stresses making students aware of more than one language.

The minister stressed that English is being introduced in schools as a subject, not as a medium of instruction. "From Class 3, we will introduce English as a full-fledged subject in all non-English medium schools. The focus will be on listening, speaking and writing aspects. We are doing this so that students start learning the language at an early stage and don't face problems in the future," he said.

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In other decisions, the state education department will introduce dual language textbooks for Mathematics and Science for Classes 6 to 8. In this system, each chapter will be published in both Gujarati and English in the same textbook. "There will not be any change in the textbook pattern of other subjects. Only Mathematics and Science textbooks will be in Gujarati and English. This will make students aware about English terminologies," Vaghani said.