“We get students from different backgrounds and regions, and they are mostly not comfortable with English,” said Gautam Biswas, director, IIT Guwahati. “Quite a few students appear for the joint entrance examination in their mother tongue. It becomes very difficult for them to follow the curriculum.”

The change could be due to a shift in the focus of education on chemistry, maths and physics rather on soft skills indicates UB Desai, director of IIT Hyderabad. “Over the years, the focus in the education system has shifted to chemistry, maths, physics. Focus on soft skills has reduced. Students may lose out on good job prospects as many companies come to campuses for global positions as well,” he said.

IIT Madras’s dean (planning) R David Koilpillai said, “Students must be able to communicate technical ideas clearly in interviews. Proficiency in spoken English gives confidence.” In this respect over the past few years NIT Trichy has undertaken measures to correct this. “Students not able to speak or even understand lectures in English is a major problem,” said Srinivasan Sundarrajan, director. The institute now organises bridge courses, workshops and orientations for the students, as well as getting older students to help newer students.

English is the global language of business and indeed all enterprise. With the situation unlikely to change in the future, proficiency in English must be seen as a necessary skill across all levels and fields of education.