Skip to main content

English proficiency for empowerment: Modi’s SCOPE vision contrasts Amit Shah’s remark

By Rajiv Shah 
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah may have asserted that soon a time would come when those speaking English in the country would “feel ashamed”, it is ironic that Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, had launched what was called the SCOPE programme, actively involving the University of Cambridge to provide opportunities to the youth of Gujarat to "become not just job seekers but job creators (entrepreneurs)."
Standing for the Society for Creation of Opportunities through Proficiency in English, SCOPE was initiated in 2007 by the Education Department of the Government of Gujarat. It claimed to have "enrolled 6,00,000+ candidates across Gujarat", with the state government's SCOPE website calling it a "great achievement." Open the SCOPE site (scope.gujgov.in) and a prominent announcement greets you:
"COMING SOON: Empowering Youth through English Proficiency. Stay tuned for an exciting new initiative to boost your English skills and career opportunities."
SCOPE, says the site, "in association with Cambridge English, part of the University of Cambridge, UK", provides "assessment, evaluation and international certification" in English. The programme is said to take into account "the key concepts of governance like convenience, affordability, equity, inclusivity and accessibility."
To quote the site: "SCOPE is the brainchild of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Hon. Shri Narendra Modi, operating under the auspices of the Education Department, Government of Gujarat. Founded in 2007, SCOPE emerged with the primary objective to enhance English language proficiency among the youth of Gujarat so they become not just job seekers but job creators (entrepreneurs)."
Revealing its objectives, the regularly updated site states, "SCOPE actively organizes diverse training sessions, workshops, exams, seminars and other initiatives for the promotion and dissemination of the English language, as well as the development of language skills, so that the students and youth studying in various colleges do not lag behind in getting employment opportunities due to lack of English language proficiency."
It claims, "Since its establishment, it has enrolled 6,39,900+ students who have acquired certificates accredited by Cambridge University." The site adds that its objectives include building "English language proficiency in the youth of Gujarat and thereby creating employment opportunities for them," and "to aid and promote advancement of communication skills in English by imparting training to the youth of 15-35 years of age group."
Other objectives include helping "imbibe reading, listening and speaking skills of the English language among the youth of Gujarat for achieving opportunity through proficiency in English Language," and achieving "excellence through convenience, affordability, equity, inclusivity and accessibility."
The website underscores that, in order to enhance "employability and to showcase proficiency in English," SCOPE has partnered with Cambridge English, part of the University of Cambridge, UK, as the assessment and certification partner, hoping this would "reach the maximum number of youth across Gujarat and create awareness among them to learn the English language."
The site claims that SCOPE would help students "suitably place themselves in a course of study and choose the right Cambridge examination," enabling them to achieve a "fast and effective way to determine the right level for your students and to determine which Cambridge exam they are ready to study for." The courses assess reading, listening, and language knowledge skills so that they can appear in a single test that "covers reading and listening skills as well as language knowledge (grammar and vocabulary)."
Pointing out that SCOPE "is suitable for all candidates aged 12+", the site states, "Each learner gets a test score as well as a CEPT (Cambridge English Placement Test)," which features "a variety of accents and texts from a range of English-speaking countries" — calling it a "fast, accurate and affordable online test designed to evaluate learners’ level of English and relate it to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)."
Highlighting that the test has been conducted with the help of authorised Cambridge partners since 2008, the site also mentions that SCOPE offers a Linguaskill programme, a "quick and convenient online test to help organisations check the English levels of individuals and groups of candidates, powered by Artificial Intelligence technology." It adds, "It tests all four language skills — speaking, writing, reading and listening — in modules."
The site claims that Linguaskill "provides accurate results within 48 hours and is easy to administer," and that one can "administer the test at any time or place, even to candidates at home." It notes that "Linguaskill is distributed through our network of authorised agents who run and administer the test."
SCOPE seeks the cooperation of educational institutions to adopt Linguaskill "to measure a candidate’s level of English for admission, progression over time or graduation," telling them, "You can then make informed decisions about course placement and any language support requirements," and attract "the best employers by highlighting students’ excellent communication skills," while helping "mobilize a large number of students on their dream to study abroad."
Insisting that "the ability to communicate well in English is essential for any business," the site states that Linguaskill can help businesses "ensure their workforce has the skills needed to perform effectively, either through administering the test at the point of recruitment or for measuring skill levels among current employees to develop their ability through training." A downloadable brochure provides fee details, noting that the maximum amount students need to pay for training under the SCOPE programme is Rs 1,400.
It highlights that "Linguaskill is an internationally recognized exam and test for educational institutions," calling it a "globally accepted examination. It is a quick and convenient online test to help in checking the English levels of individuals." The site adds, "Linguaskill is a modular test, which assesses reading, listening, writing and speaking." This gives one the choice of which skills to assess. It provides fast and accurate results within 48 hours and is easy to administer. Results are aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the international standard for describing language ability. The reading and listening module is adaptive. A YouTube link showcases the programme.
Pointing to various activities undertaken by SCOPE for improving English language skills, the site lists events such as an essay and letter writing competition, inter-college group discussions, a webinar on the importance of technology to sustain in the professional world, e-quizzes on topics like the G20 Summit and the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, an open forum on ‘Does our technology connect us more or isolate us more?’, a seminar on ‘Beyond Education: How to Achieve Success in Career and Life’, and a workshop on ‘English Language and Communication Skills in Commercial Fields’.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

10,000 students deprived of classes as Ahmedabad school remains shut: MCC writes to Gujarat CM

By A Representative   The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) has written to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, urging him to immediately reopen the Seventh Day Adventist School in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, where classes have been suspended for nearly two weeks. The MCC claims that the suspension, following a violent incident, violates the constitutional right to education of thousands of children.
Post a Comment
»

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative   A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat,  has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.
Post a Comment
»

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ   It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.
Post a Comment
»

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.
Post a Comment
»

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative   A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey  visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification. 
Post a Comment
»

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”
Post a Comment
»

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative  With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).
Post a Comment
»

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra*  The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.
Post a Comment
»

What mainstream economists won’t tell you about Chinese modernisation

By Shiran Illanperuma  China’s modernisation has been one of the most remarkable processes of the 21st century and one that has sparked endless academic debate. Meng Jie (孟捷), a distinguished professor from the School of Marxism at Fudan University in Shanghai, has spent the better part of his career unpacking this process to better understand what has taken place.
Post a Comment
»