Demonstrate that English as a second language in a Kannada medium education (or any regional language) is competitive today.

In upcoming India which is experiencing success through a large body of English speakers, it is understandable that the aspiring child and parent desire "English Medium" education. As a side effect, the schools with regional languages, and their students feel disadvantaged.

I was told by a parent and professor, who did not have the luxury of an English Medium education, but can now afford it for their child, torn between the choice of either English Medium or Kannada. They are very aware of the benefits that either has to offer - but in our current society, it is realistically only a choice of one or the other. Among those that can afford the English Medium education, that becomes the default choice.

There is the belief that learning in our mother tongue may have several advantages. But, the current system gets us one or the other (hear the Genesis talk - mp3 20 mins). Maybe, children learn better in their primary language, and english learned as a second language is viable in modern India too.

The Chandrapal Project is designed to do challenge this undocumented and common myth that seems to drive our social priorities on medium of education. A much debated and emotional topic over the years, but with little hard data and experiments to allow an alternate possibility a chance.

Our approach is to not have to make this choice as an either or choice - There is no reason not to have both - excellent ability in English and excellent ability in our mother tongue. The promise is that if we can do that, we will push the limit of what the educated Indian can accomplish at a global scale. Learning and intuition are so tied to language - and when we force the system to have an either or choice, we limit ourselves. It is true that the educated Indian has excelled at a global scale - but they are often the few and fortunate. If we remove the hurdles placed on our children today, imagine the scale and volume of advancement we can achieve for our people.

The Chandrapal Project is structured with these objectives:

1. Provide good English as a Second Language education in a Kannada medium school - Kadiyali Higher Primary School
2. Achieve a level of confidence and ability that rival the "English Medium" kid.
3. Track success - if the Kannada Medium child does as well or better than the English Medium kid - we demonstrate that learning in our mother tongues is a good choice - even for those who can afford the private English Medium school.