Should English be taught over local languages to school children

In my opinion, learning English at school is more important than learning local languages and it plays a vital role when it comes to demonstrating the overall functioning of modern society around the world. I agree it is more important to teach English than the local languages and there are certain factors that support my way of thinking and ideology. Moreover, I will try to throw my insights into the importance of this methodology both from personal as well as professional points of view. Once I along with my close friends went to a rock climbing center which is located in the posh area of Kathmandu. There were some children playing and enjoying trampoline and rock climbing activities and there were some people, probably parents, who were managing a birthday celebration. I can vividly remember the conversation that occurred between a parent and a child who was barely 8 years old and I could not hear any word that resonated with the local language or even the national language. All the conversations happened in English. That incident is one of several incidents we have encountered and discussed over our evening tea-talk session among ourselves. Our country is underdeveloped and educated general people give respect to a person who is fluent in English. The experiment of spreading the western way of civilization has always been a successful one. From the time of Queen Victoria’s Golden era language and culture flourished wherever Englishmen went, and the rapid adaptation of the English language as the official lingua franca, paved a way for other developing and underdeveloped countries to be a part of globalization and industrialization. Consequently, average middle-class and educated people did not miss this chance in Nepal to emphasize English over the local languages and national language. Moreover, if a person knows English he will be able to communicate and get out of most of the situations around the world and it’s all due to culture and western living broadcasting done by the UK and the US. Additionally, if a person knows English he/she can survive and excel academically, and culturally, and can have a better future irrespective of the background. For instance; In the tech sector, a software engineer can easily earn and advance his/her career even if he/she is living in remote China, Russia, Brazil, or India. Almost every country in the world puts English as the top five languages for business, administrative, and social dynamics. Teaching children English will help them to be global citizens first and help them to excel in most parts of their lives. Most of the resources, information, businesses, and social interactions at the global level are carried out in English and it will surely benefit them to take higher risks, challenge themselves at global level, and reap the fruits of success. In contrast, encouraging children to learn local languages will limit their overall exposure both from personal as well as professional standpoints. Thus, confining them at the local level and focusing more on culture preservation rather than global exposure. I believe the ripple effect of a person contributing on a global scale proportionally benefits the whole society and community. It is always easier to pursue and put creativity into arts, culture, literature, and other social dynamics once a community is mature enough to handle basic needs and flourishing. Sadly, we out to make a difficult choice to drive our community and environment to be global citizens, and to achieve that learning English plays an eminent role. To sum up, I believe English learning and teaching should be prioritized based on the upbringing environment of the school children so that they can contribute, influence, and be a part of global challenges and be a part of global leaders.