English...

The school has included spoken English in its curriculum and has dedicated four periods a week for it. “The school has also appointed language experts to teach students through role-playing, games and other interesting activities,” Pradhan added.

Understanding the challenges vernacular medium students face once they enter college, AB Goregaonkar School in Goregaon has adopted a bilingual approach to teaching. “This includes introducing students to English synonyms for technical words and important concepts, among other things. This way, they can understand other subjects such as science, history and geography in English,” said Shalaka Deshmukh, assistant secretary of Shikshan Mandal, which runs the school.

Sudam Kumbhar, principal, Shailendra Education Society’s High School in Dahisar, said teaching English skills to students and teachers has become more relevant now. “From around 2000, the education department introduced English for students from Class 1 even at vernacular-medium schools. While the move helped bring the