Extrinsically Motivating Students in the Rural Punjab Schools to Speak English: Challenges in the Education Sector

Running head: Education in Punjab India 1
Extrinsically Motivating Students in the Rural Punjab Schools to Speak English: Challenges in
the Education Sector
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Education in Punjab India 2
Extrinsically Motivating Students in the Rural Punjab Schools to Speak English:
Challenges in the Education Sector
The education sector in India has grown in leaps and bounds over the past couple of
years. This could be associated with the relative improvement in infrastructure, the continuously
stabilizing economy in addition to protective policies put in place by the government in order to
streamline the sector. Despite the noted success, it is a fact worth noting that the sector still faces
a number of challenges on a day to day basis (Amadio,Truong, Ressler & Gross, 2014). Most of
these challenges are associated with learners in the rural set ups who lack access to the basic
requirements in education hence making the process not only cumbersome but also less effective.
This paper focuses on challenges that exist in the education sector. A special reference is given
to learning in the Punjabi region in Northern India. Research studies indicate that learners in
most of these regions are marginalized hence lack the necessary exposure especially when it
comes to learning languages. The rate at which English is learned and spoken among the
Punjabis indicates a worrying trend which therefore reveals that the activity is not entirely
embraced in the given area. This could be attributed to the fact that the first and dominant
language in the area is Punjabi. This implies that English is foreign hence has to be taught
effectively (Anderson, 2014). This paper shall therefore explore the ways which the students in
rural Punjab schools could be extrinsically motivated to speak English. The discussions shall be
based on review of relevant literature in addition to case studies from which the arguments shall
be derived before coming up with the relevant conclusions and recommendations.
According to the annual report by UNESCO (2009), the comparative report about
education statistics across the world indicates India as one of the countries with low education
levels particularly at the elementary level (Banerjee & Lanjouw, 2012). The report points out

Education in Punjab India 3
lack of good road networks as one of the major challenges facing the education sector in the rural
set ups. With reference to Punjab, some of the roads are in deplorable states which have greatly
hindered the movement of both teachers and students from one place to another. Poor roads
networks acts as an obstacle to the learners in their bid to access their school of choice. The
students therefore opt for the nearest options irrespective of the fact that these facilities may not
offer the quality that one desires. The report finally suggests the need to revamp infrastructure
especially in the rural regions in India as a major step towards improving education. With good
network of roads, the movement of students and teachers is greatly enhanced. In addition, the
free flow of learning materials including books and other stationery is easily achieved when there
is a reliable means of transport in an area (Barro & Lee, 2011).
As pointed out by Singh (2014), education in the rural Punjab region is also affected by
lack of enough trained teachers. The author reveals a ratio of 1 teacher to about 15 students
which is not only outstretching but also leads to the poor delivery of services. From this text, two
essential factors are imminent. To begin with, the number of teachers in the given region is lower
than the expected value. This leads to a situation where the students are congested in classrooms
so that the few personnel available can attend to them within the given period of time. In such
scenarios, learning is rarely effective since the high number of students may not be able to
adequately capture the attention of the overwhelmed teacher. At the same time, the teacher may
not be able to attend to the individual needs of each of the learners, a situation which
consequently locks some out. The second emerging issue is the fact that some of the teachers are
not trained. As noted by Singh, poor training has a special influence on the teacher’s ability to
deliver the contents to the learners. Content delivery therefore becomes a major issue in a case
where the teachers themselves are not educated enough. In order to manage a long lasting

Education in Punjab India 4
solution to the problems identified above, the author presents further education to teachers as one
of the strategies which would enhance quality service delivery in the education sector. In this
case, the teachers are encouraged to further their studies in addition to attending other expository
meetings, conferences and exhibitions. These activities enable them to interact with other values
and knowledge areas which in turn revamp their content mastery. With proper teacher education
and exposure, the learners are likely to feel the gains as the teachers will effectively transfer the
content to them.
Singh and Chaudhary (2009) in their book discuss the aspect of motivational levels as
one of the challenges to effective education. As noted by the authors, motivation on the side of
both the learners and the teachers is a vital element required for successful teaching. The teachers
ought to be motivated to do their work. This could be achieved by availing the necessary
learning resources like books and other stationery. The teachers can also be subjected to
dependable reward schemes where the consistent and effortful performers are identified and
encouraged. This increases the desire to give one’s best when it comes to accomplishing the
responsibilities. On the other hand, the authors are keen to note that the students’ motivation and
attitude towards the learning process plays a key role in influencing the level to which they will
grasp and understand the contents. For instance, teaching English among the Punjabis has been a
major challenge due to the society’s attitude and level of reception towards the language. This
implies that the learners themselves are hardly motivated to explore new challenges and hence
gain from the process. This in turn acts as a major obstacle to the effective delivery of the
curriculum. The authors therefore suggest the need for continuous teacher and learner motivation
as a means of improving the effectiveness of learning not only in Punjab but in India as a
country. The government would work on measure which may include increasing the