Punjab announces Urdu as medium of instruction at schools from next year

[Crusher]

Punjabi is a diverse language and reading in some standard dialect of Punjabi would destroy local dialects

That is why I am perfectly OK with Urdu being the language of text books and examinations in Punjab as well as Pakistan. It keeps all the dialects of various provincial languages alive unlike in other countries where they have disappeared.

 

[Syed1.]

NUML university students are from Urdu medium schools. All they do is foundation course in English and have 50%+ first class scoring of Bradford University degrees (marked by British examiners). These results are way higher than British students!

So it's BS anyone suggesting that this is a bad idea. English is an easy language to learn for business communication with the world if one has learnt it during the 11 school years.

They don't do a foundation course.... they do an intensive foundation year to get the hang of English and I think that will mostly be proficiency to read and write. Spoken is a totally different matter. These students spend a year of their best time to just learn a language which could easily be avoided if they are taught during the time they are already putting in school.


Also I do not get how you compared intelligence with language proficiency. NUML offers courses on engineering and being an engineer myself I know that around the world no engineering course requires students to write long essays or do critical analysis of Shakespeare.

 

[Verve]

They don't do a foundation course.... they do an intensive foundation year to get the hang of English and I think that will mostly be proficiency to read and write. Spoken is a totally different matter. These students spend a year of their best time to just learn a language which could easily be avoided if they are taught during the time they are already putting in school.

Either way.

Chinese school in Mandarin and all their scientific research is recorded in Mandarin as well.

There's absolutely no issue with Urdu medium as long as advanced studies / degrees / professional studies are in Urdu as well.

We need skilled professionals for local industry, not for other countries.

Communicating with Chinese factories is difficult as their English is bare basic but it's doable. As long as the manager can speak decent English it all works out OK.

And China is the factory of the world.

 

[xyxmt]

you will stay 3rd world developing country as long as medium of education is not changed to your own language.

 

[Dubious]

Urdu to be medium of instruction in primary schools: Buzdar
MANSOOR MALIK

LAHORE: The Punjab government has announced its decision to revert to Urdu as medium of instruction at the primary level in public schools from the next academic session beginning in March.

The announcement came rather abruptly through a tweet by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Saturday in which he said the teachers and students “wasted most of their time in translating their lessons”.

A post made with the tweet said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) manifesto clearly stated that the medium of instruction would be Urdu at the primary level.

It claimed the provincial education department had conducted a survey of students, parents and teachers in 22 districts about the medium of instruction and almost 85 per cent of the respondents in each category voted for Urdu. English would be taught as a separate subject, said the post.

Sources in the bureaucracy said the abrupt decision might create difficulties in teaching at the primary level. They said the previous government led by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif had conducted exhaustive consultations through an education consultant, Sir Michael Barber, and introduced English as a medium of instruction in public sector schools.

They said the Punjab government was facing serious problems as its enrolment campaigns were failing to meet targets and a large number of children remained out of schools. On the other hand, parents were more interested in sending their children to English medium private schools in their respective streets than in sending them to the public schools.

Sir Michael Barber in his book The good news from Pakistan had explained the Punjab government’s initiatives launched in consultation with the UK’s Department for International Development and the British Council.

He had later claimed that a huge number of children from private schools had shifted to the English medium public schools.

Sources said the Punjab government had also conducted teachers’ training at the formerly Directorate of Staff Development besides enhancing the basic qualification of teachers at the time of induction. They said the government should first go back to training teachers so that they could efficiently teach English terminologies to children in primary schools.

“It took almost 10 years to make a decision to introduce English medium in public sector schools and will take much time again to return to the Urdu medium instruction,” a bureaucrat said.

However, a former dean of Punjab University’s faculty of education, Prof Dr Hafiz Iqbal, said the Shahbaz Sharif government’s decision to introduce English as a medium of instruction in primary schools was “unreasonable”.

He said there should only be a strong component of the English language. “There will not be much of a requirement for training of teachers to revert to Urdu medium,” he said.

Referring to the PTI government’s slogan of introducing a uniform curriculum for all sections of society, some analysts said that reverting to Urdu as a medium of instruction would further enhance the divide between the poor and the rich Pakistanis.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2019
https://www.dawn.com/news/amp/1496641

 

[Dubious]

I am sorry but what the hell is this?

So all the 10 yrs wasted? What sort of training was Shariff govt providing if the teachers were translating lessons instead of creating?

Sources said the Punjab government had also conducted teachers’ training at the formerly Directorate of Staff Development besides enhancing the basic qualification of teachers at the time of induction. They said the government should first go back to training teachers so that they could efficiently teach English terminologies to children in primary schools.

What sort of training was provided to translate lessons instead of generating some? I mean it is primary school?! Stop messing with our next generation!

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Saturday in which he said the teachers and students “wasted most of their time in translating their lessons”.

Abrupt changes are never good...This is really unfortunate and shitty at best

 

[Sugarcane]

What happened to PTI's promise of bringing education level of government schools up to standards of schools for rich kids? Or it was about bringing level of private schools down to government level to provide equal opportunity and I misunderstood it?

 

[Sugarcane]

I am sorry but what the hell is this?

So all the 10 yrs wasted? What sort of training was Shariff govt providing if the teachers were translating lessons instead of creating?




What sort of training was provided to translate lessons instead of generating some? I mean it is primary school?! Stop messing with our next generation!


Abrupt changes are never good...This is really unfortunate and shitty at best

In Education sector mofos has been playing with future of nation since 70 years, PTI government has proven that it's no different from her predecessors as far as education is concerned.

 

[B.K.N]

I am sorry but what the hell is this?

This is right decision and a thread with 7 pages already exists on this same topic
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/punj...instruction-at-schools-from-next-year.628739/

 

[Dubious]

This is right decision and a thread with 7 pages already exists on this same topic
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/punj...instruction-at-schools-from-next-year.628739/

Yes just saw it ...going to merge

Excellent decision. Here in Sweden, English is taught at as a language in secondary/higher secondary schools and not used as a medium of instruction and still they speak English with near native fluency and accent.

However, it won't be effective we still have private English medium schools so all the schools must follow the same system.

Difference being Swedish is a Latin language while Urdu isn't. ...It is hard to switch later on in life. ...its like asking a Swedish speaker to learn Urdu in secondary school...Some may mastrt it but it won't work for a whole population...

 

[B.K.N]

So all the 10 yrs wasted? What sort of training was Shariff govt providing if the teachers were translating lessons instead of creating?

I did matric in 2013 and all government schools from 2008 to 2018 under Shahbaz were Urdu medium
Some private schools are English medium but most I think are Urdu but questions in papers are in both Urdu and English
Like this

but result cards don't mention whether you studied in English or Urdu medium
Science subjects from class 11 are in English

 

[Proudpakistaniguy]

Dont make any sense . Urdu is already a compulsory subject in school and translating science subject into URDU is very silly task. I am saying this because I have studied mathematics in URDU and what's the point of studying science and arts subjects in URDU when you are going to study all these subjects in English at college and University level ? If you are copying Chinese and German then they have higher education and research in native languages as well.

 

[Zibago]

Secondly Punjabi would the mother tongue of most of these kids especially in rural Punjab and if the intention is to help children get a better understanding than why not let Punjabi be the teaching medium.

Those are murky grounds why should a Murree wala learn dialect of Lahore?

 

[JonAsad]

The division between English able and Urdu speakers is already there.
We should establish a uniform education system.

Personally i will not prefer urdu medium.

 

[Winchester]

Those are murky grounds why should a Murree wala learn dialect of Lahore?

Ideally in my many countries thats why schools are under the management of local school boards.

Anyways I thought Imran was all about raising the standard of govt. schools so that those students could compete against students from private institutions. These are nothing but headline grabbing populist measures.