Daily Times

The results of the three major nationwide research studies conducted by the author during the last 10 years (2005-2015), funded by Aga Khan University and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as well as Punjab government and Beaconhouse National University (BNU) on language planning and higher education, english and employment, and successful women educators of Punjab are insightful in terms of the gap between the current de jure and de facto language policy, academic outcomes, sociocultural outcomes and the failure of not addressing the issues of access and equity as well as development.

With regards to access to higher education, a number of critical factors were identified. In terms of language speaking communities, a key finding in the random sample of 2,136 students was that, first of all, the majority of students in the study to access higher education from all provinces were from the Urdu speaking community (42 percent) followed by Punjabi (30 percent), Pushto (14 percent), Sindhis (four percent), Balochi (five percent) and others (five percent). The random sample of higher education institutions from Sindh included not only the capital city of Karachi, which was heavily populated by the Urdu speaking community, but were on the recommendation of the statistical advisor of Hyderabad city. The results are indicative of the rapid spread of Urdu due to its official status as the national language. Also, it is important to note that the Urdu speaking community, including those who migrated during and after partition, were more highly educated having studied in Aligarh and other leading universities where Urdu was the medium of instruction. Urdu speakers soon entered the corridors of power as they assumed leadership positions.

The study also provides an insight into the role of attitudes in languages, leading to the language spread/shift of Urdu, English and regional languages through competency and use of mother tongue and Urdu or English as the first language in informal and formal domains. The students reported highly positive attitudes towards English and instrumental motivation needed for higher education and work, followed by Urdu for higher education whereas, negative attitudes were reported for their mother tongue and its use for education, even at the primary levels of schooling. Regional language speakers, except Punjabi, urban-educated speakers (where a significant number of them reported Urdu as a first language), reported high ethnolinguistic vitality and were competent in their mother tongue, using it with family and friends in informal domains.

Secondly, the socio-economic status of speakers was a major factor in accessing higher education in terms of the quality of education they received. Students in the sample belonged to varied backgrounds and the monthly household mean income ranged from those studying in the public sector (Rs 13,718l) and students studying in the private sector higher education institutions (Rs 30,361). Around 572 students (approximately a quarter of students) did not respond. The low income group of students could access only public sector higher education mainly in a mix of the Urdu and English medium whereas the higher income group could access private universities where English was the medium of instruction. The private sector higher educational institutes are considered superior in terms of offering a better quality education.

Thirdly, despite the fact that English is the official medium of instruction in higher education, only 49 percent of students from the public sector reported English as their medium of instruction, and 68 percent did so from the private sector. In self-reports and interviews of students it was seen that it was bilingual education (Urdu and English) being practiced in the classrooms. An interesting aspect of this was that English teachers explained that they used a blend of English and Urdu in teaching English since there was a demand from students whereas the students blamed their English teachers for inadequacy in spoken English.

Finally, the inefficient English Language Teaching (ELT) programmes being offered from class one to 14 were seen as the intervening variable between positive attitudes, high motivational intensity and successful second language learning. As per UNESCO reports, 1,200 hours of teaching a second or foreign language programme, spread over two years, should be sufficient for successful learning.

In case of access to graduate employment, there was a study with regards to a random sample of 1,335 graduate employees from 184 small, medium and large scale public and private organisations belonging to manufacturing, service and trade from all provinces of Pakistan. The results from this study revealed that the majority of employers reported that there was no written official language policy.

In terms of language speaking communities, a key finding in the random sample of graduate employees was that, firstly, the majority of graduate employees that were employed in all provinces were from the Urdu-speaking community, followed by Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi and others. Secondly, the socio-economic status of speakers was a major factor in accessing white collared jobs in terms of ‘soft skills’. Thirdly, highly positive attitudes of both employers and employees to English motivated the graduates for instrumental reasons to be fluent in English and was seen as critical to access graduate employment. The findings of the study revealed a factor of serious concern, as only 17 percent female graduate employees were identified mostly in a non-management cadre from all provinces of Pakistan. These results have to be seen in the perspective that the majority of female graduates opt to work as academics in educational institutions, which was not included in the sample.

Research findings in these studies reveal that de jure or legal language policy is different, especially in the case of higher education and employment, from the defacto language policy in practice in Pakistan. To conclude, for a language policy in education to be successful, far more research in areas of language and education are necessary. However, one point is clear and that is the need to enhance the status and role of regional languages, develop materials in Urdu and local languages, focus on training bilingual teachers for primary schooling and finally for the HEC to note the need for setting up translation departments in universities. Therefore, we must adopt a ‘cultivation’ policy and produce graduates who are additive and not subtractive bilinguals.

(To be continued)

The author is a professor of English at the Lahore School of Economics and a previous VC of the Lahore College of Women University