Job Discussion Forums

[odhorsudhapan]

Why dont schools in India pay English teachers to the level offered by Chinese schools?

[squindia]

English and Hindi are the official languages here in India. I guess its a case of saturation. Plenty of locals in every city in the country can teach English.

[lall]

Locals teach Hinglish, really.

By the way, I'm Indian. No offence, S.

This is just to point out that the teaching of English in India by our fellow Indians is really teaching English in a form that's a literal transalation of the vernacular.

Regards,

Lall.

[jivendost]

schools in India don't offer the same pay scales as schools in China for a few reasons:

1) The exchange rate hovers around USD 1: Rs. 48 while exchange rate in China is set to 8 yuan for every USD.

2) The salary for an average teacher in India is extremely low. Salaries are not catered to a foreign population. Depending on a teacher's living arrangement, some are able to live on that salary...at least basic necessities. Some are not. There is little respect for teachers in India as many of them have a very high rate of absenteeism. Why should the salaries be raised for people who don't even bother coming to the school? It is a big part of the reason why classes in India are so large.

3) People in India would not feel comfortable with their schools being "taken over" by foreigners because of excessively high pay scales for them.

[Pelican_Wrath]

Still, I reckon the fact that English is the national language (in effect) is the main thing.

[jivendost]

Interesting statement...

It is true that English, in India, is a business language. However, I disagree with the idea that it is, in effect, the national language.

The percentage of people in India, when you count the whole population rather than just the business population, is smaller than perceived by many people in the world.

Yes, if you are in a large cosmopolitan city in India such as Mumbai, you will find many who know English well. However, if you get out of these types of cities, you will see a very different picture.

It is true that English is one of the official languages of India. But India has over 20 official languages.

If you go to a government-run school, you will learn Hindi first. Learning English in a public school does not start until 5th grade (standard).

Many schools in India that advertise themselves as "English-medium" schools teach English only in name as in many such places, only the principal knows English. The teachers may be literate in English, but many teach English through speaking Hindi since they cannot themselves speak in English.

All of this, of course, depends what part of India you are in and choose to see. In the cities, especially the more cosmopolitan ones, you will find many people who know English. Go into the "pols" of Ahmedabad, which is a major city but less cosmopolitan than a place like Mumbai, and find out how many people there can speak GOOD English. You will find that those in some business or another know English fairly well. But the average guy on the street will likely have trouble with the English language. Sure, the average person will probably understand the basic things we ask about like where is the bathroom, what time is it, and so on, but will have trouble making a coherent conversation. They would also understand the English words used in our respective languages (Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, etc.) such as water, ice, sun, newspaper, and they would probably know how to say "My name is ______.", "How are you?" and simple things like that.

There are NGOs which will advertise for schools in India who want English teachers and then the NGO will pay the teacher a stipend. The school itself may not have the money on its own to hire foreign teachers to teach English. Many of them have chalk, a chalkboard and that is about it. Large classes (40-60 students) are typical.

Indians in India also have a very different definition of "good English." The Hindi for "I study at school" is "Mein vidyaleh me padtha hu." Transliterate that and you get, "I school in study."

I would still say that if you are really intent on teaching in India, you should find an NGO in the US that focuses its efforts on India, and most of the good ones will be able to find a place quite fast. You could then ask the NGO about a stipend or salary, and how much they would be willing to give you -- it would be enough that you have enough to live in the area of the country where you choose to teach.

Also, if you have the qualifications, there are plenty of good international or international-level schools all over India that would more than welcome a teacher from outside the country at a considerable amount of pay which a local could only dream of.

It is not that the jobs aren't there. It is that the onus is on us to look for the jobs and seek them out. They are there, but having been to India many times, I am convinced that they are not advertised internationally. Whenever I arrive in India, I see ads for English-medium schools everywhere. Surely, the adverts are for students. But if they want the students, they surely need the teachers and it means that it is up to the prospective teachers to take the initiative, approach the schools, and say that this is a place I would like to teach.

There are also PLENTY of people who want to learn English but cannot because they simply do not have the money. To many locals who want to learn the language, many good English medium schools are too expensive to pay for. In fact, English-medium schools are likely the most expensive type school that an Indian student can possibly attend.

If you would like to teach in a government school, then yes, the salary is much lower than English-medium school, and so the rate of teacher absenteeism is much higher. But that is a different topic so won't get into it just now.

[Henry_Cowell]

That was an EXCELLENT post!!