Language
Education in Pakistan is carried out in two languages, Urdu and English. While Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, the language was originally and initially developed in Uttar Pradesh in neighboring India. The language was chosen as the national language by the Founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and has no relation to the belief that it was brought to Pakistan during the Partition of India by migrants called Muhajir Urdu. Urdu quickly dominated the Pakistani political landscape and Urdu is mandatory in all schools and educational institutions as part of a strategy to undermine the indigenous languages and cultures of the region (some of them being Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Brahui). Education in Pakistan was severely affected by the language bias. According to a 2010 British Council report, this forced imposition of Urdu on non-Urdu speakers in Pakistani schools and universities has resulted in the systematic degradation and decline of many of Pakistan's indigenous cultures, is partly responsible for a rise in reactionary rebellions against this ethnocracy (such as Sindhi nationalism, Baloch insurgency etc.), and contributes to discontent and political instability in the country. The report also cites rising illiteracy rates in Pakistan among the indigenous and attributes it to the forced imposition of Urdu in schools, leading to non-Urdu speakers, feeling threatened by the neglect of their languages in Pakistani education, becoming increasingly reluctant to enroll in these schools.
Read more about this topic: Education In Pakistan
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“Like the train’s beat
Swift language flutters the lips
Of the Polish airgirl in the corner seat.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jing by gee by gosh by gum”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)
“Play for young children is not recreation activity,... It is not leisure-time activity nor escape activity.... Play is thinking time for young children. It is language time. Problem-solving time. It is memory time, planning time, investigating time. It is organization-of-ideas time, when the young child uses his mind and body and his social skills and all his powers in response to the stimuli he has met.”
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)