English may be the ‘language of power’ and the ‘language of today’ but we cannot allow it hamper our youth’s creativity and act as a hurdle on their path of learning. This language paradox has undermined our education standards in Pakistan.We have no well defined language as a medim of instruction policy and this fractured system has thus divided the society. Though we have some excellent private schools but on the other hand, we also have second tier private schools which pretend to be English medium and deteriorate the intellectual minds of our individuals.
A study of Education, Inequality and Polarization in Pakistan by Dr. Tariq Rehman is enough to help one understand how our education system and language in education policies are polarising the society. Language plays an important role in the educational, social, cultural and poltical context of our country. Language is made up of words and words which we habitually use often mould our mode of thinking. It is primarily a vehicle of communication and thoughts and feelings when communicated through the same medium.
Punjab government announced that after reviewing the decision and learning outcomes, it has decided to switch the medium of instruction back to Urdu for teaching till Grade 3. On the other hand, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has changed the medium of instruction in public schools from Urdu to English from April 2014. The argument put forward for this change in the medium of instruction was to bring public schools at par with private schools. British Council Report, 2012 and study by the ASER, 2012 indicate that the decision of the KP government to change the medium of instruction to English is not aligned with the demands of the parents in the province. However, it seems that before introducing the drastic step and learning from Punjab government, KP government did not refer to any research or study on this subject to find answers.
Looking at China, their method is to require every student to study in their own language for nine years. English if taught as a second language there. Those who wish to join other foreign boards appear in the school leabing examination. Thus, Chinese people are completely embedded in their history and culture and they make the intellectual base of their students by first introducing it to them their own local language.
One of the primary casuses of this sorry state of education policy is because of the lethargic attitude of government. They have always disengaged theirselves from the education sector and because of this, these public sector institutions perform dismally. It is this ruptured education system that is damaging the intellectual fabric of our students. Public sector schools blindly imitate the policies of private schools and ultimately fail to come up on the expectations. They introduce English as a medium of instruction without knowing how to carry forward it. This is corruption and barbarism and in a way attacking on the younger minds.
It is also because of the ill conceived policies of the government that they hardly look at the matter closely. In return, poor management practices by the public sector institutions go unquestioned everyday. They get a free hand in the policy making of their schools. These public sector institutes come up with their own confused set of medium of education policies and ultimately bring down the level of education to such a sorry state. They make their own choices and thus further contribute to the present crisis in education in Pakistan
We live in a multilingual country where at least eight major languages compete for supremacy. No doubt, English occupies a special position by virtue of its “neutrality”. But the status of English as the language of international communication exerts additional pressure on the government. This importance is also reinforced by Pakistan’s employment market who favours fluent English speakers for every job.
People believe that English is the magic wand that can open the door to prosperity. Policymakers, the wielders of economic power and the social elites perpetuate this myth and teach English to the students’ right from the primary level withough thinking about the consequences.
The government’s argument for the change in medium of instruction to bring public schools at par with private schools is also shaky and baseless. It is a misconception that just changing the medium of instruction in public schools from Urdu to English will bring them at par with private schools. There are also many factors such as school resources, curriculum, teachers’ motivation, training and accountability, parents’ education and socioeconomic status that contribute to improve educational outcomes. Simply changing the medium of instruction will achieve nothing unless all these other variables are addressed as well.
Though, we have an excellent English-based system in the private sector, yet it is expensive and caters for a small wealthy elite. Children from the middle and lower-middle classes go to second-tier private schools which charge relatively modest fees. But these adopt a strange mix of languages while pretending to be English-medium.
Teaching in Pakistan is very formulaic in nature, they empasize more on rote memorization and less importance on engaging the imagination.The teachers explain in their mother tongue while teaching from English language textbooks. This language is badly taught by the teachers and children are somewhat forced to learn this foreign language. This kind of action would ultimately produce crammers.
English is not thoroughly grounded in our culture, history and knowledge. Due to this, children of Pakistan do not develop an emotional affinity with it. Due to this, they think of learning as boring and repititive rather than fun and life changing.
These ill planned education policies along with the fractured system divide society. It split the society into highly educated elites and poorly educated ones. This disparity creates alienation and thus has a profound impact on society and economy.
Lack of able and professional teachers compels the students to plagiarise and memorise passages. It is a massive disadvantage for children. Because of this, child holds no joy of discovery and fails to have interest in the studies. Induction of foreign language would make the students to discouarge critical and analytical thinking and he would indulge hisself in the cramming culture for good.
A child begins “acquiring” language from her environment soon after she is born. They gained three or four years of language experience in their mother tongue when they start school. If English is to be the school language, these children lose this advantage. The door of prosperity gets open but only for small elite because this small minority is bilingual from the start by virtue of their parents who possess exclusive English-medium education.
This language paradox indulges the country in a state of linguistic confusion and thus lowers the standard of education. These failed poilicies also create desperation among the children. They see this aspect as a lacel in them of not being proficient in English. At the same time, children are also ashamed of their own language due to the fact that this is the only language they can communicate in. It also results in language barrier between them and their precious learning time which is being wasted. This means that even if the children are in school they are not learning much that is of value
One of the worst impacts of change in medium of instruction on educational outcomes e.g. completion of primary education cycle is that the ability of the children to complete primary education cycle is decreasing. The shift in the policies of the successive governments from Urdu to mother tongue and from mother tongue to Urdu and ill-planned policy of the government is increasing the number of out of school children in the province.
Researchers argue that the best medium for early education is the language a child already knows and to which a child is naturally exposed in his/her social environment. Children, who learn in native languages stay in school longer, do better on tests, and repeat grades less often than students who do not get instruction in familiar language. English is not the medium of instruction even in developed countries like China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, etc.
It is the duty of the government not to implement half hearted policies in the education system. It is education that make nations fall or rise. Introducing quality assurance agencies would be providing consistent data and timely reporting to the cocerned educational departments. We should invest in education, it would bring social mobility at the indiviual level and national level.
Successive governments should recruit staff that is qualified enough to teach English as a subject in public sector schools. Government should send their teachers for training programmes where they can undergo a process of learning and adaptability to modern methods of teaching. In this way, they would be able to impart gainful knowledge to their students.
Government should not risk the future of the country for the sake of a foreign language. When students and teachers are well versed in the language of instruction, only then are they capable of sharing knowledge, ask and answer questions, take plunges of creativity and fashion an environment of healthy and interactive discussions and debates in the classroom. That is what learning and educating is about and stands to define quality education and raising the bar.
This would be a novel approach of brightening the young minds of our nation. Supplementary reading material in English would allow thestudents to remain connected to this language. Give them reading material that consists of short stories that are interesting enough and which come to them like a breath of fresh air in order to think creatively, critically, freely and out of the box.
Government should make English as a secondary language in all primary schools across the province. It is a fact that children in primary schools are more receptive to learning in their own language. Side by side introducing them with the language of English would help them to have a grip on it in the higher grades.
A flexible education system and curriculum books will allow children and teachers to work as they feel. We are a multilingual people and our children are accustomed to. We need to have an education system that incorporates local languages while gradually transitioning to a foreign language at higher levels.
Children must initially begin their schooling in their own tongue, with which they are familiar. This will help their cognitive development and inculcate critical thinking. It will also enable them to be articulate participants in the construction of knowledge in the classroom and discourage the culture of rote learning.
The main challenge would be to decide judiciously which language is to be used as the medium in which region and at what stage other languages, including English, should be introduced. Primary education plays a crucial role in the whole education system. It lays foundation for secondary and higher education. Efficient and effective policies at the primary level would be helpful to attain the goal of another cycle of secondary education.
On a collective level, we need a sound set of policies that would enable the students to question, think and express. Medium of instruction should encourage critical and analytical thinking, impart basic and advanced traditinal skills and help develop an aesthetic sense among the students. Students should be aware of their own history, culture and language and this can only be accomplished by implying a direct link with their native language and education.
Pakistani government should help their students to think out of the box and this can only be done if the children would adopt that mediumof instruction in which they are comfortable, these children are young and have thirsty minds, they just need a little bit push to do big things. Hence, education should act as a driving force for the young, it should inspire them and fuel them with energy and passion.