By: Anwar M. Iqbal
Pakistan has a faulty educational system. The growing number of dropouts and the short-sightedness of education policies are two of the common problems being faced by this sector. It is estimated that only six to eight percent of students reach at university level. The newly added ‘national curriculum’ adds to the questions of the system. In spite of all these troubling impediments, education has never been a high priority in our government’s policy. However, the greatest among the challenges of education system is the the language dilemma.
As Pakistan has a rich diversity of languages and dialects – which change in the country after every 20 kilometers. But very few of them find their way into the formal education system. Language policies never allow a regional language to be understood by children to enter into the field of education, which explains why the system recedes. According to UNESCO, 40% of children do not have access to education in a language they understand. The situation in Pakistan is similar; children in most fields are taught in an unknown language that they do not understand. These policies affect children at the grass roots, so the illiteracy rate in the country goes at its peak.
According to Zubida Mustafa, a writer, freelance journalist and a domain pioneer, the child’s learning process begins until the child is born and is automatically in the mother tongue. For example, when a child moves out of school, there is a vocabulary collection of 300 words. So everything stops learning rather than thinking critically, adds Miss Mustafa.
She further says that language has two uses in education: either a teaching tool or as a second language. The last use of the language is acceptable if there are no linguistics for a child in the first years is his native language. The native language, as an instructional medium, has two advantages: first, it keeps the child rooted in his culture and then it gives them a feeling of security. But our governmental policies have long ceased to trace the children.
In Pakistan, public schools have an Urdu-base instruction medium while private schools have English for that purpose. But Urdu, along with English, has failed as a mean of education in Pakistan. However, a lot of people claim that children in the country know Urdu very well – through smartphones and excessively watching Bollywood movies and other TV shows. But this account is mere a propaganda; children need something better than Bollywood and the media because they are not included in formal education.
Furthermore, linguistic barriers mean that despite the years of schooling, many students remain illiterate. This happens because the students’ turnouts decrease since they do not understand the language in which they are taught. They do not question, drag back in the presentation and copy paste the homework when they are educated in a mysterious language. Their performances descend and stay primitive and unproductive.
Balochistan is also the hardest-hit province in this respect. Since the government does not understand the role of language in developing education. They have chosen to ignore Balochi, Brahvi and many other languages which persist in Balochistan. Children in the province cannot access to literacy skills in their first language. It was a paradox that made education difficult for them. As such, abandonment rates have been high in the province. In addition, numerous languages from Balochistan are at stake. Brahavi can be revived if they are brought to the education sector.
The government, therefore, has to recognize the role of language in the educational system. The decision-making body should rely on well-known linguists and academics to address this tragic problem. At the same time, we need researches and public discourses about language in education.
Published in Daily Makran Times
Daily Makran Times 