English medium school is one of the education systems in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
that follows mostly the curriculum of
Edexcel and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...
of
UK and other curriculums of other countries also, such as
IB curriculum. All the textbooks of every subject are taught in
English except for
Music,
Bangla
Bangla (Bengali: বাংলা) may refer to:
*Bengali language, an eastern Indo-Aryan language
*The endonym of Bengal, a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia
*''Bangla-'', a prefix indicating Bangladesh
Businesses and organ ...
and religious subjects which is taught in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
in some schools. English-medium schools are growing in popularity among the middle class, upper-middle-class and rich families. The English-medium schools not only teach the students about their own countries but also about the European History and Literature.
The exams of the O-level and A-level students of Edexcel and Cambridge are conducted through
British Council Bangladesh
British Council Bangladesh is the Bangladeshi branch of the British Council that provides English and British Education and takes part in cultural exchanges. The main office is located in Dhaka and branches are located in Chittagong, Sylhet. Tom ...
.
The Daily Star Award is the most prestigious award provided to O-Level and A-Level examinees of Bangladesh, for their extraordinary academic performance. The criteria for an award are: 6 'A's in O-Levels, 3 'A's in A-Levels, and highest marks in O-Levels and A-Levels.
Language
The English-medium schools teach most of the subjects in English. Bengali is also taught. French and Spanish is taught in
International School Dhaka
International School Dhaka (ISD) is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in Dhaka, Bangladesh that was established in 1999. The school enrolls students in the age range of 2–18, from Playgroup through to Grade 12, providing an int ...
. The
St Francis Xavier's Green Herald International School also teaches French to its students from grade 6 onwards. These language skills help the students later in life when they go abroad for higher studies.
Criticisms
Critics of English medium curriculum point out that the students of English-medium are weak in their mother-tongue (Bengali). They say that in English-medium schools, English is the first priority. They also argue that English-medium students are less patriotic. These criticisms are similar to those that can be found in
English-medium education
An English-medium education system is one that uses English as the primary medium of instruction—particularly where English is not the mother tongue of the students.
Initially this is associated with the expansion of English from its homeland ...
. This is not always true, however. These days, schools try their best to educate their students about their own culture. Also, the students are not taught the social studies courses which sometimes discusses about the social problems the government is dealing with.
History
St Francis Xavier's Green Herald International School is the first English medium school in Bangladesh which was established in 1912.
References
{{Reflist
Education in Bangladesh