Member of Rajya Sabha Kartikeya Sharma on July 22 pitched about the Indigenous English Proficiency test in Parliament. On the matter, the respected MP stated called for a few important changes.
In the parliament, Kartikeya Sharma stated, “The need for this very important subject. IELTS which is an international English language testing system and the TOEFL which is a test of English as a foreign language exams amongst others are pivotal for Indian aspirants seeking education and opportunities abroad.”
He continued, “These exams serve as a standardized measure of English proficiency required by universities and immigration departments in English-speaking countries.
Further shedding light on the matter, Kartikeya Sharma asserted, “The industry surrounding these exams has grown significantly post covid 19. Making it a multi-billion dollar industry with ever-increasing volumes of aspirants registering for these exams.”
He shared, “Approximately $3 billion 25,000 crores is spent every year on these exams by Indian students. One significant issue is the high cost associated with taking these exams,” adding, “Every year lakhs of Indian aspirants appear for these exams. the fees for which is usually upwards of 10,000 rupees per exam. This also indicates that a hefty annual revenue of several billion dollars is being generated for foreign entities conducting these exams.”
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Kartikeya Sharma said, “This cost is exacerbated by additional expenses such as coaching fees study materials repeated attempts and lack of adequate exam centers entailing to try to High Travel costs as well. Considering the said facts it would only be appropriate that India comes up with the indigenous English proficiency test catering to the needs of aspirations of Indians.”
Sharma also stated, “I request the Ministry of Education to take initiative of forming a world-class test based or internationally accepted standards and make joint efforts with Ministry of External Affairs to create its acceptance throughout the countries with global education hubs.”
He concluded, “This shall not only afford ease of access for an economically challenged aspirant but also democratise the mechanism of learning English as a means of gaining higher education for foreign lands.”
Kartikeya Sharma is the founder of ITV network (Information Pvt. Ltd.) an Indian media company, house to India News, NewsX, and The Sunday Guardian. He is the son of the former union minister Venod Sharma. The media baron stood independently in the nail-biting elections held for the Haryana seat, and four other states.
Sharma is the owner of the Piccadily group, a hospitality and industrial venture, which runs Hyatt branded Hyatt regency hotels in Gurgoan and Ludhiana and Hilton branded Hilton Hotel in Delhi.
In 2019 he introduced an Artificial Intelligence voice assistant to the NewsX studios; the NewsX AI is claimed as the world’s first integrated voice assistant to be used in a newsroom and Sharma has been referred to as a pioneer of innovative technologies in the media industry.
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