Tomorrow, over 86 lakh primary school students in UP will begin to learn a new language-English. They will first learn the meaning of star, sky, diamonds and then the rhyme, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

The language will be introduced in Class I from the academic year beginning July 1. Since English is taught from Class III now, Class II students, too, will get their first lessons in the language this year. There are around 46 lakh students in Class I and about 40 lakh in Class II.

Text books are ready and being sent to district headquarters while the District Institutes of Education and Training are busy preparing for orientation classes of teachers. The books, prepared by the State Council for Educational Research and Training, introduces the language with the help of colourful pictures, illustrations, cartoons and rhymes. The books will be distributed free to students.

The decision to introduce English from Class I was taken earlier this year after an official study found that students ‘feared’ the language when they first studied it in Class III, and the fear continued, making them hesitant and lacking in confidence. “The first expectation is that students of our parishadiya schools should be able to compete with students of private schools as in majority of cases, the lack of knowledge of English becomes a hindrance. Moreover, for introducing them to computers or technologies, English plays an important role,” said R P Singh, Secretary, Basic Education.

The introductory remark on the books spells out that hope, “English language will enhance the quality of life of our children and widen their thinking.”

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