Daily Times

Ever since the Chief Minister Punjab has taken the monumental decision of making Urdu as a medium of instruction till primary in the schools of Punjab since kids, he feels, are unable to understand anything in English, my brain cells have gone all nuts. No wonder our education system is in such a deplorable condition because people at the behest of education are either genuinely pathetic or are largely indifferent. Oh, Wait! Is Mr. Buzdar an Education Minister? Why does he think making policies in the educational field is his prerogative? Perhaps that answers why our education system is in such bad shape. Without putting in a grain’s worth of research, analysis & evaluation, the people in power corridors think they can do whatever they feel like doing in an area they feel comfortable in.

No wonder our education system is in such a deplorable condition because people at the behest of education are either genuinely pathetic or are largely indifferent.

70 years of independence and we still have not figured out which medium of education should we really go for. Two parallel systems of education; Urdu medium schools and English medium are running in the country, in fact, I’d like to say 3; madrassas, I reckon don’t really fit into any of the two categories. Every madrassa follows its own school of thought with its own curriculum & pedagogy. And yet we don’t let a chance go by to quibble about everything going wrong in the country.

What does the current CM Punjab want to achieve through introducing a complete Urdu medium till 5th class is mindboggling? It was already prevalent in government schools so what does he want now? The rest of the schools should follow suit? So, does he plan to completely abolish the need to learn English? Does he plan to demote English from the status of Pakistan’s official language consequently, though I’m dubious he can pull that Herculean task off? Is he also intending to shift the Entire paraphernalia; the documents, data/record, constitution, R & D in Urdu? Are we going to rely completely on our own language which has, of late, not been worked upon much in terms of producing literature to support your education system? Are we going to have Urdu medium colleges well eventually for adjusting these kids learning in Urdu medium till 5th grade? Because obviously they won’t learn much till 10^th grade if they are going to learn ‘abc’ in the 6th grade & most certainly won’t be able to construct proper sentences, let alone write an essay in English, or speak in English or comprehend the concepts of different science subjects being taught in English at college level. Has he contemplated enough to resolve that issue as well?

What do you really want my worthy CM Punjab? Is there a need to add your share of confusion to an already complex & messed up education system?

Early years of education are the best years for kids to be exposed to as many languages as possible. Their brains are way more receptive than the people in the power corridors. Let them learn for heaven’s sake. Let their horizon expand. Instead, focus on teacher training. Train your teachers to make the environment conducive for enabling the students to learn multiple languages in their formative years. So, they don’t end up getting petrified in college when they hear their English teacher delivering the entire lecture in English wondering which planet they’ve landed on.

Have mercy!

Living out of a suitcase, teaching English at Higher secondary and an amateur blogger; taking turns to squeeze humour and meaning out of the story called life.