It’s a pity English, an essential humanity, is being neglected to our own harm
SIR— I would like to refer to Mr Bonge’s article, “English poorly done at O-level in 2004” of January 31. Mr Henry Oryem Okello decried the poor performance in English. Oryem stressed that low proficiency in English language meant that candidates were not able to understand fully the requirements of questions in other subjects. We have heard the Ministry of Education and Sports put emphasis on science subjects. In fact, the Government intends to sponsor more students for science courses at university than those for the humanities like English Language and Literature in English, among others. Why push aside the official language of many nations in the Commonwealth. It is more spoken in many parts of the world than any other language. It is not the chief means of communication in Uganda’s education system — it is the only means- right from nursery/primary schools to universities. All subjects including the sciences are taught in English. How else does a Physics teacher expla
in that
work done is equal to force multiplied by the distance moved without using English, a humanity? All exams must not only be set but also answered and marked in English.
I contend therefore that making it compulsory is not enough, considering the overwhelming weight it has over the sciences. Its teaching must be facilitated from the lowest level of education for a firm foundation for better comprehension of all the other subjects. The biggest share of blame ought to go to the ministry and all policy makers for formulating myopic policies which annihilate humanity to create a world of robots. Doctors and engineers must not only speak it but also write it in their day-to-day transactions.
Stephen Birikano Munyantwali
Kampala
Published on: Wednesday, 23rd February, 2005
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