The importance of English-by Professor Sanath P. Lamabadusuriya Source:Island In the recent past, there has been a lot of correspondence, in the print media, regarding the medium of instruction in schools. Some scholars have advocated the introduction of English, very early during the formative years of children; the advantages of which would be better prospects for employment, both locally and abroad. Others have stressed the importance of preserving the mother tongue mainly for cultural reasons. I agree with both points of view. I think we should learn a lesson from our neighbour, India. With a population of 1.36 billion people (2019). Having 19,500 different dialects, 121 of which are spoken as the mother tongue and 121 languages being spoken, their national policy, since they gained independence in 1947, has been for every child to know three languages; mother tongue (Tamil, Urdu, Bengali,Telugu, etc.), national language (Hindi) and an international language ...