Daily Times

“Let very heavy earrings be in the box, as wearing such articles may tear the ears.” (a Sindhi proverb)

The first draft of the Single National Curriculum, proposed by the National Curriculum Council of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training for Students of Grade Pre-I to XII, has finally been shared with provinces. It suggests English as a medium of instruction while ignoring all mother languages; raising apprehension among the stakeholders. The first attempt by the federal government at the centralisation of a uniform curriculum for schools across the country is not short of loopholes.

Concerns have been expressed by experts as the mother languages have been ignored for the sake of so-called national harmony, without realising that this, in no way, will bear fruits at all.

The ministry wished to achieve national integrity and cohesion through bringing uniformity in thoughts on all national issues, interests and problems. The curriculum was considered the only time-tested instrument to achieve this goal.

According to the proposed framework, English and Mathematics/Numeracy would be taught in English and Urdu in Urdu in Pre-I; from Grade I to III, English and Mathematics in English and Urdu, General Knowledge and Islamiat in Urdu; in Grade IV and V, English, Science and Mathematics in English and Urdu, Islamiat and Social Studies in Urdu; from Grade VI to VIII, English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and Computer Education in English and Urdu and Islamiat in Urdu; and from Grade IX to XII, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Pakistan Studies and Computer Education in English and Urdu and Islamiat in Urdu.

Maintaining your first language is critical for your identity

The proposed model is equally illogical as one in the run. Mother tongue education refers to any form of schooling that makes use of the language or languages that children are most familiar with.

Although there is an overwhelming evidence that children learn best in and through their mother tongues, millions of children around the world receive education in a different language.

Research indicates that having a strong mother-tongue foundation leads to a much better understanding of the curriculum as well as a more positive attitude towards school. Thus, it’s vital that children maintain their first language when they begin schooling in a different language. Children are the best when it comes to learning and speaking diversified languages. However, educating them, particularly Science Subject, reduces their capacity and capability to learn.

Experts suggest that at least at the foundation phase, the learning must be in mother language. In many countries, the language in education policy encourages the use of mother-tongue instruction in the first three years of primary school, followed by a switch to English in Grade Four but allows schools to make the final decisions.

In Sindh province, in government-run schools, up to VIII standard, all subjects except English are taught in the mother tongue and the students switch to English for higher secondary education. In university, all subjects are taught in English and students are quite comfortable.

The actual problem is with the different types of curricula taught in English-medium private and government schools. To bridge this gap, it is the dire need to have the same curricula across the country, not exclusively switching to the English language at the cost of ignoring mother tongue.

Maintaining your first language is critical for your identity and contributes to a positive self-concept. In terms of its value in social interactions, speaking your first language can strengthen ties with family members. If the native language isn’t maintained, important links to family members may be lost and learning capability is on compromise.

One must not ignore what the UN revealed: at least 43 per cent of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain. Less than a hundred are used in the digital world.

When asked, “What is the best medium of primary child education, the mother language or English?” only a few favour English with the notion that if the child is going to be encouraged to engage with a global workforce of the 21st century, English is widely accepted as a universal language. However, there are technologically advanced nations (Germany, France, China) to name a few, where the medium of instructions is the mother tongue. These nations are not lurking in the lake, rather are on the road to prosperity setting examples for other nations to follow the best footsteps.

People in Pakistan speak around 74 languages of which 66 languages are local and eight are foreign. Urdu is Pakistan’s national language, but only 10 per cent of the people speak it. Punjabi is the most common language as 48 per cent of the people speak it. The website data shows that 12 per cent of the people speak Sindhi, 10 per cent Seraiki and English, eight per cent Pashto, three per cent Balochi, two per cent Hindko and one per cent people speak Brahui. Some of these languages have alphabet while others are just a source of communication.

Providing education in English may be a complex of few professional pygmies and intellectual orphans and they may not be allowed to decide the fate of our future. It is, therefore, suggested that the proposal of providing education in English aimed at uniform curricula must be given a second and serious thought to avoid any irreparable loss.

The writer is the chairman of the Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam