Studying in the Bengali medium is a loss project for general students

 

From the British colonial period to the era of Pakistan, the official and educational language of East Bengal, now Bangladesh, was English. As a result, we see that those who studied during the British or Pakistani era can speak English much better than we do. Naturally, even someone who passed class five in those days could speak English better than we do. Although the spoken language of the people was Bengali, the official and educational language was English. Even after the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state through the Liberation War of 1971, the official and educational language remained English. As a result, we had a qualitatively educated generation. Whatever else they may have done, neither Mujib nor Zia made the mistake of changing the official and educational language.

But this mistake was made by the post-Zia dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad. During his regime, he set us back by a hundred years by making Bengali the official and educational language. Among the misdeeds Ershad committed to attract public sentiment, this initiative was one of the most significant. For this, Bangladesh's current suffering young generation will never forgive him.

The 21st century is the era of globalization. This is an age of possibilities. To survive and compete globally in this era, the young generation of Bengal must master two things: 1. advanced technological skills, and 2. extreme English proficiency. There is no alternative to these two.

But what do we see in reality? Except for a few English-medium schools and colleges, our youth are not receiving quality English education anywhere at the school and college levels. As a result, even after studying for 12 years from class 1 to 12, our youth cannot properly speak, write, or read English.  This disparity even exists at the university level. Most students in Bangladesh study at the National University. But except for the English department, the medium of instruction for all other departments is Bengali. Public universities do use English for instruction, but mostly just in name. I am a student at one of the top public universities in the country, so no one knows the inside story better than I do.

Now let’s talk about technological skills. The lack is so severe that you'd be shocked if you randomly ask graduates how many own a computer or know how to use one. While the world is entering the era of artificial intelligence, where the fourth industrial revolution is fast approaching us, Many of our graduates still don’t even know how to use a computer. Now do you understand why such a large portion of Bangladeshi graduates are unemployed?

The graduates aren’t to blame — our outdated policymakers are responsible. They still feed us a colonial-era education and think that’s how we’ll conquer the world.

Bengali is our mother tongue. We speak in Bengali. The satisfaction we get from expressing our thoughts in Bengali is unmatched in any other language. But we must also remember — the world doesn’t run on emotion. Reality is harsh. Even when English was the official and educational language, we still spoke Bengali. Our poets and writers practiced literature in Bengali. Newspapers published in Bengali — there was no problem. Even now, if Bengali remains the state language but English becomes the official and educational language, it wouldn’t make much difference.

The young generation will learn English and become skilled enough to compete in the global market. And there's no alternative to technological skills. Soon, many people in this region might starve due to the lack of technological skills. Only those who are highly technologically skilled will survive in the fourth industrial revolution. So, the government must place urgent and serious emphasis on technological skills. Just bring changes in these two areas—language and technology.

Just like Indians now dominate the tech markets of Europe and America, Bangladeshis will hold that position in the future, insha’Allah.