Drawing light on this was EF’s English Proficiency Index launched this year – the first index of its kind to give standardised, country by country measures of proficiency in the working population. It ranked India 30th among 44 countries from Asia, Latin America and Europe and placed it in the ‘low proficiency’ category. Among 13 Asia category countries, India came eighth – just in front of Russia and surprisingly behind China which is now believed to have a greater number of English learners and speakers.

In the English Next India report, published by the British Council in 2010, linguist David Graddol made similar observations, going further by suggesting that the country was at a crisis point in terms of proficiency with much of the world catching it up and in some cases leaving it behind.

There are no firm figures for how many of India’s 1.21 billion population speak English, which has traditionally served as a bridge between the country’s 22 native languages, and estimates vary widely. The commonly held perception is somewhere between 5% and 10%, which would make India the second-largest speaking English country after the United States.

However, the fact proficiency remains so low is a worry on a number of levels. Firstly it will affect the country’s higher education system, which needs students to have better levels of English if it is to achieve international levels of excellence in its universities. While many institutions teach in English, Graddol found that most students were below the Ielts level 6 required for effective academic study, and that undergraduates in the neighbouring Philippines are already more proficient.

Poor student English is also having a direct effect on the economy. India requires millions more skilled, English-speaking graduates to enter its global-facing services industries in the next decade if it is to continue on its current growth trajectory.

Students in India studying at the British Council offices

However, many graduates lack the skills required by multinational companies, and a report from the Confederation of Indian Industry in 2009 found that only 39.5% were considered employable in the telecoms, healthcare, IT, banking and retail sectors. 

It’s not only aspiring middle class professionals who stand to lose out, but also the country’s poor who are hoping to improve their lot on the back of the country’s boom.

English has always facilitated social mobility in India, but despite the growing demand from all sections of society, strong proficiency remains the preserve of the few. “An elite minority educated in English medium in school are being better prepared for the challenge of university courses taught through English, and provides the main source of students on postgraduate degrees, such as the MBA, which lead to the best-paid careers,” wrote Graddol.

So why is a country that has such a long history with English lagging behind Asian countries that do not? Much is owed to the fundamental problems in Indian education. Children have an average of just five years’ schooling – among the lowest on the EPI report – and universal elementary and secondary education is still elusive. The drive for English as a second language has until now taken a back seat, and the subject is only now becoming mandatory in primary schools – a key driver for adult proficiency.

English-medium education has overtaken Bengali and Marathi to be second only to Hindi

Perhaps understandably, public demand for better English is growing fast. English-medium education, delivered via a growing number of private schools, has overtaken Bengali and Marathi to be second only to Hindi. Middle class demand for university education is also increasing and the government wants to see 800 to 1,000 new universities by 2020 – all of which will drive standards and expectations of English up.