Should the mother tongue or English be the medium of instruction?

Over the years, there has been a raging debate over the need for children to have their mother tongue as the medium of instruction in schools. While educationists have emphasised the importance of learning in the mother tongue to enhance a child’s learning and overcome glaring inequities, there has been an equally steady demand for English-medium schools in several States.  Here we discuss why and how the language policy can be reoriented. Guests: V. Vasanthi Devi, an educationist and former Vice Chancellor of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tamil Nadu; Anita Rampal, Professor and former Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University Host: S. Poorvaja