Strange
as it Seems - Knowledge and fluency of
English
augments lifetime income and reduces inequity in India
Abusaleh Shariff
and Asrar Alam
In
India, the knowledge and fluency of English language generates better incomes
over the lifetime. Empirical research of a recent all India household survey
suggests that knowledge and fluency of English language is a most ‘secular income
augmenting and inequality reducing’ factor in the nation. It benefits all types
of Socio-Religious communities (SRCs) of India. Note that the fluency in
English provides an opportunity to earn within a narrow band of income for all
communities. Surprising enough, English language has a huge role to play to
augment and effect income equity in India.
Demographic Dividends can be reaped
mostly through access to better quality higher-level education and proper
implementation of a well-conceived pan-Indian education policy framework. Since,
education sector development is the responsibility of state governments, there
is a wide diversity in medium of instruction policy; such as choice of early
education in mother tongue, regional languages and Hindi as the national language.
This situation is the result of India’s diversity, multiple languages and
dialects, and the very foundation for the formulation of the States was based
on languages. There is no country on this planet which has such a large
diversity of languages and associated literature and culture leading to unique social
value systems. Yet English, considered a foreign language is the most sought-after
medium of instruction without which youth cannot make it to the higher levels
of learning and associated higher levels of earnings.
It may not entirely be the legacy of
the British Raj that in contemporary India imparting literacy and education in
English has become a mechanism to overcome serious socially differentiated (motivated)
economic differentials; and that contemporary globalizing economic system is
anchored in this language. Today’s internet revolution, supported by
technological innovation, is largely anchored upon the English language.
To capture the prevalence and impact
of the English language, the authors estimate income earning differentials
associated with the ‘knowledge’ and ‘fluency’ according to SRCs. A rare data from
a national level sample survey of the NCAER is the source of estimates in this
article.
‘English language ability’ is measured in
two categories - ‘little’ and ‘fluent’. Over
all, only 4.8 per cent of individuals in India are fluent and another 20 per
cent know English a little. The High caste Hindus (HcHs)’ are twice the level
of average fluency and they constitute 43 per cent of all those who are fluent
in English while their share in population is around 20 percent. Communities
with low levels of fluency are the SCs/STs and the Muslims.
English and augmented Income: As indicated
earlier, highest annual income per capita is earned by fluent English with Rs. 62,306
(2011-12 prices) compared to little knowledge with Rs. 31763 and with no English
knowledge with a meager 19214. Thus,
earning amounts to a 40 per cent jump in income with little English and another
50 per cent when the fluency is achieved. Compared to no knowledge of English
the fluency increases incomes by 69 percent. The virtuous side of this income
growth is the fact the knowledge and fluency of English affects uniformly at
similar scale within each of the SRCs considered in the analysis.
It
has become clear that the knowledge and fluency of English is one the most
dominant discriminatory factor in India in terms of the ability to earn higher
incomes. Yet such discriminatory incomes get compounded when distinctions are
made about its impact according to SRCs. At any level of English education, ‘all
others-(HcHs)’ category earns considerably more than any other category. For
example, the OBCs earn 36 percent less compared to this group even when English
is not a factor. When the fluency of English is introduced an additional 25 per
cent income increase for the ‘all others-HcHs); that is a total of 74 per cent
increase in income.
These relationships for the SCs/STs are of similar levels and scale which
suggest that it is only the ‘all others-HCH’ who gain substantially from the
relative advantage of English language. First, they are the one who have better
access to English education and on top of that they also have better access to
English-favored labour market in India.
Interestingly for the SC/STs and Muslims, the income growth from ‘none’
to ‘little’ and ‘little’ to ‘fluent’ is a secular increase suggesting the fact
that providing English education among these communities will bring
considerable income growth which will even help them to come out of poverty. The dominant finding of this research is
that English language has emerged as the most secular factor that benefits all youth
irrespective of SRCs. Surprising enough, English language has a huge role to
play to both augment and effect income equity in India.
Quality English Educational
Infrastructure:
Let us consider these findings in the backdrop of a statement made by the
current Vice President of India Mr. Venkaiah Naidu on the Hindi Divas-2018 - “the English language is a ‘disease’ left
behind by the British”, stressing that Hindi was the symbol of ‘socio-political
and linguistic unity’ in India. It is unfortunate that national as well
political leadership of the nation shows hatred and callousness against English
language, whereas English is also a constitutionally recognized language of governance
and business. Further, while English has always been a well-respected and most
sought-after medium of instruction in South India; the trend is catching up in
the north Indian states in the recent years. The absence of government support
in promotion of English at elementary and high schools has resulted in
proliferation of unscrupulous English language educational institution all over
India.
A fresh understanding of the role of English
language in India is urgently needed and only through this process will the
Indian youth be able to reap the demographic dividends on which the economic
growth of the nation is so dependent on. In this context it is useful to
mention creation of quality school infrastructure with an emphasis on English
in the states of Telangana and Karnataka. Telangana has built 204 residential
schools during 2016-17 for imparting quality education to the Minorites.
Similarly, there are 64 Morarji Desai Residential Schools, 4
Minority Model Residential School, 9 Pre-University residential colleges and 5
Muslim residential Schools are in operation in the state of Karnataka. Other
states especially Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat can
emulate creating similar modern educational institutions which will generate
higher income and bring equity amongst the youth of India.
-------
Shariff is with the US-India Policy Institute,
Washington D. C and Alam works at the National Council of Applied Economic
Research, New Delhi.
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