Maple Leaf, Scholastica, Mastermind make the mark

It is time that the government invite authorities of all the top international English schools in Dhaka to use their expertise to take the global language to the grassroots in Bangladesh with British assistance

Mizan Rahman

English language today knows no borders. Thousands of Bangladeshi workers in Middle East earn low wages as they cannot speak English fluently as Indians, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis do and earn higher salaries.
It is not by chance that English has played a very important role all over the globe for some time now. Although English is not the language with the greatest number of native speakers worldwide, its importance for communication is constantly growing. This is part and parcel of one of the latest developments of human societies, the much-discussed phenomenon of globalisation. Decades before attention started to focus on the modern global scale of mutual influence and interdependence, a handful of countries decided on gradually joining forces to compete with others. It sometimes seems to be taken for granted that, since English is obviously the major lingua franca in the world, it must in consequence also be decisive in reaping huge benefits of globalisation Bangladesh is in today.

English as a language has achieved a genuinely global status when it has developed a special role that is recognized in every country. In 1919, US President Woodrow Wilson had the Treaty of Versailles (which ended the First World War between Germany and the Allies) written in English as well as French. Since then, English has taken root in diplomacy and gradually in economic relations and the media. The language now seems set to have a monopoly as the worldwide medium of communication.
Today, economic globalization is going hand in hand with the growing use of English. People are being encouraged to use or send messages in English rather than in their own language. Many do not mind. They see this as part of the unavoidable trend towards worldwide uniformity and a means whereby a growing number of people can communicate directly with each other.
As Roland J. Breton, a geolinguist from the University of Paris states: “The spread of English may be seen as a positive development which saves resources and makes cultural exchange easier. After all, it might be said, the advance of English is not aimed at killing off local languages but is simply a means of reaching a wider audience... A person makes a mark through his or her ability to use the most useful language or languages. And over several generations, the most useful language eliminates the others.”

Bangladesh is already in a chaotic situation – from the problem of illiteracy, unemployment, the spoils of public office, bureaucracy, political or extrajudicial killings, corruption. We must put all our energies on the more practical solutions in order to see a brighter future for our nation. Do not forget that Bangladesh can attain growing prosperity and commercial aggressiveness due to the extended use of the English language by our countrymen.

It is against this background that several international standard schools in Dhaka city including Scholastica, Maple Leaf and Mastermind have been playing a very pioneering role in espousing the cause of English language.

Maple Leaf has already made its mark as one of the best English medium schools in Dhaka city. It was established about three decades ago in 1972. The school started its journey on the ground floor of a building in Dhanmondi area with 25 students. At present, the school is housed in several buildings at different quiet places in Dhanmondi accommodating thousands of students from Play Group to A Level. It has bought four bighas of land at Bashundhara residential area to establish its permanent campus. The quality of teaching and grooming the children has been steadily improving since its inception. The sponsors of the school expect to facilitate extra-curricular activities for the students.

Maple Leaf School has produced outstanding achievers who scored as many as nine As or ten As in one sitting. Md. Fares Bhuiyan of the school was the first student in Bangladesh to secure 10 As in one sitting. The other students who secured 10 As in one sitting was Faria Mahjabeen. Busra Binte Adam secured 12 As in two sittings. Over the years, many students of the institution won scholarships from internationally renowned colleges and universities such as MIT, Caltech, Harvard. Brown, Yale: Princeton, Cornell. Dartmouth, Lafayette. Mount Holyoke, Imperial, York, British Columbia and Pennsylvania. Tarek Fazle Ali received 100 percent scholarship from North Eastern University in the USA and Khandaker Abir received 98 percent scholarship from the University of British Columbia.

The University of Pennsylvania of the United States shares a friendly and warm relationship with Maple Leaf. This friendship has grown stronger through the years with the visit of Dr. Arhbrose C. Davis, Director of International Recruitment and Development of the University of Pennsylvania. Every year foreign visitors from different countries visit the school.

Maple Leaf is the only school in Bangladesh whose students are invited to participate in Harvard Model Congress. Maple Leaf students Sami Noor Munem and Abdus Sabur Mostafa received outstanding’ achievement award in this conference held in Luxembourg and Paris.
The main aim of Maple Leaf School is to prepare students to face the most rigorous higher educational standards in leading institutions throughout the world and at the same time produce highly motivated individuals. With ‘this aim in view, the teachers are always ready to help and support the students. Naturally, in such a cooperative atmosphere, education becomes more appealing to the students.

Most of the classrooms of the school are air-conditioned; cameras are set up to monitor the activities of both teachers and students. All kinds of facilities for quality education are provided to the teachers on demand. One of the outstanding features of Maple Leaf is its rich science laboratory. The United Kingdom has recently decided to give 50 million pounds, equivalent to 7,000 million taka, under a programme called “English in Action” to develop English Language skill in Bangladesh.
The nine-year programme is expected to significantly increase the quality of education for 25 million people, contributing to economic and social development in the country.

According to a DFID press release, English in Action is an innovative and comprehensive programme that will target a number of different ages and groups. It will provide teachers at primary and secondary levels with a firm foundation for teaching English.
Besides, the programme will offer opportunities for using and practicing English in a variety of economic and social contests.
By raising the standard of English language, the programme will also address a major skill gap in the workforce and help the country become more competitive in both internal and international labour markets.

English in Action will make use of rapidly expanding mobile phone technology in Bangladesh. It will use television ad radio to stimulate interest and debate, and to reach the maximum number of people with appropriate learning programmes.
The programme will also provide a wide range of supportive printed and audio learning materials, which will be available to a wide range of learners.

It is time that the government invite authorities of all the top international English schools in Dhaka to use their expertise to take the global language to the grassroots. Maple Lead, Scholastica, Mastermind and other schools have already displayed their acumen in developing English language skills and can suggest effective means of developing the language on a wider scale across Bangladesh through the use of the British grant. Alarmingly, most of SSC examinees as well as teachers from rural areas are very poor in English. The experts, working with the top English schools, can help achieve the aims for which the 7,000 million taka Britain has given to Bangladesh. There must not be any misuse of the huge money made available by the United Kingdom, a friend of Bangladesh in need.

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