We have become slaves of English language, says Chandrashekar Kambar

Mysuru: It is its

commercial

capital that has ensured the linguistic dominance of

English

– the Colonial language guarantees a

salary

, and those proficient in the language have no difficulties making ends meet, rued Jnanpith award recipient

Chandrashekhar Kambar

here on Thursday.

An acclaimed writer, Kambar, participating in the 57th Foundation Day celebrations of the

Regional Institute of Education

(

RIE

), said that the education system in the country, a by-product of the Macaulay school of thought, had equipped English with the power to systematically kill

indigenous languages

of India. “We are assuming that we cannot survive without English. This is akin to addiction. We are now very much like slaves of English. This threatens to destroy the creativity in us,” said Kambar, who delivered the Sardar Panikkar Memorial Lecture as part of the celebrations.

Pointing out that creativity could be successfully nurtured only in one’s mother tongue, Kambar added, “Once a child learns his or her

mother tongue

well, we will witness a visible spurt in the kid’s creative abilities and capacity to absorb knowledge. Citizens of many developed countries don’t bother to learn English. We are destroying the creativity within us by embracing English.”

Endorsing the call given by fellow writers such as Chandrashekar Patil, the Janpith award recipient added his voice to the growing chorus demanding the implementation of

Kannada

as the medium of instruction in schools till class X. Lashing out at the existing education system, Kambar said, “We are turning our kids into memory machines. They are being asked to remember everything they read, and regurgitate the same during examinations. We need to provide education that will help our children grow into able citizens capable of serving the country.”

The writer said that parents must be disabused of the notion that education of children must begin at the age of three or four, by admitting them to Montessori.

Meanwhile, vice-chancellor of the

University of Mysore

Prof G Hemantha Kumar, who participated in the celebrations, lamented the paucity of quality teachers in the country. “Teachers with a vast wealth of knowledge and values are very few in number. We need to have teachers capable of transforming children into assets of society,” said Prof Kumar, adding that aspiring teachers must have a passion for the job, coupled with reverence for the profession.

RIE principal Sreekanth was among those in attendance at the event.