We were not using English language anywhere around us except for school. So I faced this dilemma — why were they forcing us to learn this language which was not practically used in my life. I was told that English would be the medium of instruction in college. But I asked myself can't we continue our education in our own language? Why are these people forcing us to learn this language? I developed an aversion towards English language from the beginning. I also had this inferiority complex about this language. Even today I hesitate to speak in English. (Nirmala, 38-year-old Indian woman)
Two very different perspectives are evident in contemporary educational goals. One focuses on creating a trained workforce to adapt to the needs of industrialisation; here education links with economy. Another seeks to enrich a learner's quest in relation to self and identity. Both create tensions and dilemmas in a learner in a postcolonial society. Understanding and addressing the educational experiences of these learners in present times demand a particular sensitivity towards ‘educated hybrids’ and ‘dislocated migrants’. With particular reference to gender and feminism, Chandra Talpade Mohanty (2003) places the onus on creating sensitivity through pedagogy to understand these complexities:
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Sharma-Brymer, V. (2009). Reflecting On Postcolonialism and Education: Tensions and Dilemmas of an Insider. In: Cowen, R., Kazamias, A.M. (eds) International Handbook of Comparative Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6403-6_42
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