In a move that deserves to be applauded, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to impose the province’s most widely-spoken language, Pashtu, as a medium of instruction at the primary level in all public sector schools except in Hazara, Indus Kohistan, Chitral and central Peshawar. In another such decision, the government has made Pashtu a compulsory subject up to the secondary level. All this is praiseworthy given that it is a universally-recognised right that children should be taught in school in the language they speak at home. Being an advocate of ‘mother tongue-based’ education myself, I am heartended by this, but at the same time I also feel excluded.
In the Swat Valley there is a narrower valley at the north: this is called Swat Kohistan with its main centres as Bahrain, Kalam and Madyan. The inhabitants of this scenic part of the Swat district are not Pashtun and have their distinct languages and cultures.
Let me illustrate why. According to a survey by a local organisation that I head, the Centre for Education and Development, the literacy rate in the town of Bahrain in Swat Kohistan is 12 per cent for males and a mere 1.5 per cent for the female population. This is very low in comparison with the rest of the district. Among the many factors behind this sorry state of education is the fact that an alien language is used by teachers. Local residents speak Torwali, a language different from Pashtu. For the past decade or so, all teachers at the primary level in the area have been Pashtu speakers, whose language the children could not understand. This has pushed away a lot of students from the school and the result is the low literacy rate. There are hardly a dozen people amongst the local population of some 200,000 people who have a university education.
Now, the provincial government has made Pashtu the medium of instruction at the primary level; that will push the native speakers of tribal languages further back. Pashtu is not their first language; it is very different from their mother tongues in writing and in grammar. The Torwali and Gawri (spoken in Dir Kohistan) languages are Indo-Aryan, more similar to Urdu and Hindi. They have no linguistic affinity with Pashtu. Hence, it is very difficult for the people, particularly for the children, to read and write Pashtu.
There are now two mother tongue-based multilingual educational initiatives piloting in Bahrain and Kalam. In both the programmes, the children begin their education in their first language and after a year they are taught Urdu and English. In primary grades the students are taught some oral Pashtu as well. The two initiatives have developed a curricula in the children’s first language including primer, reading and listening to stories, big books, basic science, cultural studies and basic numeracy. The aim of the two indigenous initiatives is to present models in mother tongue-based, multilingual education. But the programmes need time and indeed, patronage by the government.
Till a mother tongue-based curriculum is fully prepared for all the schools, the provincial government must introduce Urdu as a medium of instruction in the six union councils — Bahrain, Bishigram, Mankiyal, Balakot, Kalam and Utror along with Dir Kohistan (about 200 primary schools). This way local teachers and students will not face pedagogical obstacles and the high dropout rate will be arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2010.
This would be unfair if the other local languages are ignored, that would be equal to new imperialism ” Pashtun”,I wounder provinces would be split by adopting such linguistic policies.
God bless Pakistan
I agree with the author, in this case it does affect this linguistic minority adversely. However I would like to add to the commentator AkhtarN that local languages do not create seperatism if used in schools, but in fact have the opposite effect the world over. I agree it seems counterintuitive, but the localization of language increases feelings of acceptance in ethnic minorities.
Being a signatory on the Dakar conference under UNESCO, it is obligatory for the Pakistani state to facilitate its citizens to get basic education in their respective mother-tongues. Basic education in one’s first language has also been declared a fundamental human right by the United Nations. I fully endorse Zubair Torwali’s demand from the KPK government to refrain from imposing Pashto on the children of .
I would like to appreciate Mr. Zubair for his excellent article on the issue of languages in education, and especially in early grades. This is the right of every child to start his/her education in their mother tongues. But in our country it is somehow not liked by our policy makers and they have made excuses to implement it, but we are thankful to our provincial government for their bold decision to encourage some of the language groups to start their education in their own languages, i.e. Chitral and Indus Kohistan. In Swat and Dir Kohistan this is the similar case where majority of these people speak the languages (Gawri and Torwali), and the smaller children cannot speak or understand Pashto or Urdu when they first time enter into schools. If a child doesn’t understand a language, how she/he can continue their education further? government of KPK should think about this issue and let our children to start education in their mother tongues.
I have been a regular visitor to Swat in past 16 years, with my first visit back in 1994. I have a few aunts and uncles there who are local teachers in different parts of Swat right from Kalam and Bahrain to the rocky but breathtakingly beautiful Utroor valley. Throughout my trips, it was always an astonishment in the early years and an encouraging sight in the later to watch school children learning their lessons in open, under a tree with the huge snow-capped mountains in the background! It always came as a surprise to spot the kids in grey colour uniforms in the remotest of areas. I hope they keep receiving a decent education.
Pushtoon nationalists often complain of the federation for the denial of their linguistic rights. Now this is up to the KPK government led by nationalists to pay heed to a justified complaint of a linguistic minority within their realms.
The writer is right in his assertion that Pashto should not imposed on those whose mother tongue is different.
Being a member of minority community myself I remmebr my school days when we had barrier in the form of language. The teachers of the dominant communities would discourage us; even, told us that we were never able to get education. We could not interact with the teachers because they always laughed at our poor language competence in their language. Many friends opted to leave the school while we vainly struggle with an alien language and school environment. The KP governmnet must give the rights to the children of this minority community to choose the ducation and source of education for themselves.
Being a student i personally really feels that one should get the primary education in his mother tongue. All developed countries i mean the westrens teach their kids in their own mother tongue though English is a preferred language there. But here its not fair to teach kids in that language who has no idea about that. The kids of Swat Kohistan have their own language and they must taught in that language not in pashto.
Being an inhabitant of Swat Kohistan i can realise what the gravity of the problem is. When we were in our schooling our pushtun teachers would always look down upon our language. They would always disourage us by saying that we cant get any education because of our different ethnicity. This attitude of teachers, who were from a different ethnic group and who spoke a different language, would always result in a large number of drop outs from the schools.
Now majority of the teachers in Swat Kohistan is local. But the provincial government made Pashto compulsory. Almost all the subjects except English and Urdu, are in Pashto. Even the teachers cant read and undersatand the language so how could the students understand that. Our education policy makers should think about that. And let every minority ethnic group free to get their basic/primary education in thier respective mother tongues.
Being a part of the survey the writer has mentioned in his article I am a witness of the situation. In the survey we interacted with 95 primary school teachers who do not speak Pashto as their mother tongue said that they could neither read or write Pashto. This is the case with the teachers. What would be the case of the children who are forced to carry their education in a language they do not know.
In this regard we had obtained signatures by the teachers and the community people to replace Pashto with their respective mother tongue; and till a fully developed curriculum is available in these langauges Urdu should used as medium of instruction instead of Pashto as the former is more relevant to the mother tongues in linguistic terms.
What the author has pointed out is cent percent true and we all must stand for that in order to stop further degradation in the already sorry state of education in the marginalized area.
Interesting article about Kohistani languages – Torwali and Gawri. I will advise the writer and his supporters to get these 200,000 people organize on political lines and start a political struggle for their languages.
Pakhtuns have won this right after a long and hard struggle. We should not forget that millions of Pakhtuns living in Pakistan have been struggling for decades for this right and they are yet to see their children getting education in Pashto.
Pashto is alive and developing because many people have devoted their lives for its promotion. Many of our people have been labeled “TRAITORS” and were persecuted for demanding to get education in the language they speak. The language is still not given proper time on PTV – state media. Our struggle is not over yet.
PAKHTO LEKAY, PAKHTO WAE, AW PAKHTO LOWALAY!
Mr Q Khattak,
Let me quote the first paragraph by the writer, ” In a move that deserves to be applauded, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to impose the province’s most widely-spoken language, Pashtu, as a medium of instruction at the primary level in all public sector schools except in Hazara, Indus Kohistan, Chitral and central Peshawar. In another such decision, the government has made Pashtu a compulsory subject up to the secondary level. All this is praiseworthy given that it is a universally-recognised right that children should be taught in school in the language they speak at home.” and as far as I know the writer who is the one who had gone too far for the rights of the Pushtun and what is happening with them in the name of the ‘strategic depth’ policy. In his article, in the very beginning the writer has appreciated the move by the KP government of making Pashto as medium of instruction. As for the struggle it does not need a head-on fight with any ethnic community. The basic point and endeavour is to get educational, linguistic and other rights by not denying these to others. If Pashtun do struggle for such rights we should appreciate them. But it is never should be happened that in their struggle they should impose upon others what they want for themselves.
It is not a question of choosing a langauge, it is a question of getting one’s language recognized.
The Pashtun did that because of majority; and we will do that because it is a right universally recognized.
But sometimes we fear that some of the ‘fanatic’ nationalists would compell us to opt for an armed struggle but that we will never do as our ancestors have left a legacy of peaceu and coexistence.
Thanks readers for the comments. Here I would like to post the some paras of the international cevenants regarding linguistic, cultural and educational rights. Please read and reflect……….
Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights passed in the World Conference on Linguistic Rights in Barcelona, Spain on June 9, 1996 states that:
Considering that the majority of the world’s endangered languages belong to non-sovereign peoples and that the main factors which prevent the development of these languages and accelerate the process of language substitution, include the lack of self-government and the policy of states which impose their political and administrative structures, and their language;
Considering that, in order to ensure peaceful coexistence between language communities, overall principles must be found so as to guarantee the promotion and respect of all languages and their social use in public and in private.
Some articles of the declaration are presented below.
Article 3
1. This Declaration considers the following to be inalienable personal rights which may be
exercised in any situation the right to be recognized as a member of a language community; the right to the use of one’s own language both in private and in public; the right to the use of one’s own name; the right to interrelate and associate with other members of one’s language community of origin; the right to maintain and develop one’s own culture; and all the other rights related to language which are recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the same date.
2. This Declaration considers that the collective rights of language groups may include the following, in addition to the rights attributed to the members of language groups in the foregoing paragraph, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 2.2: the right for their own language and culture to be taught; the right of access to cultural services; the right to an equitable presence of their language and culture in the communications media; the right to receive attention in their own language from government bodies and in socioeconomic relations.
Article 8
1. All language communities have the right to organize and manage their own resources so as to ensure the use of their language in all functions within society.
2. All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal whatever means are necessary to ensure the transmission and continuity of their language.
Article 9
All language communities have the right to codify, standardize, preserve, develop and promote their linguistic system, without induced or forced interference.
Article 11
All language communities are entitled to have at their disposal whatever means of translation into and from other languages are needed to guarantee the exercise of the rights contained in this Declaration.
Article 12
1. Everyone has the right to carry out all activities in the public sphere in his/her language, provided it is the language specific to the territory where s/he resides.
Section II
Education
Article 23
1. Education must help to foster the capacity for linguistic and cultural self-expression of the language community of the territory where it is provided.
2. Education must help to maintain and develop the language spoken by the language community of the territory where it is provided.
3. Education must always be at the service of linguistic and cultural diversity and of harmonious relations between different language communities throughout the world.
4. Within the context of the foregoing principles, everyone has the right to learn any language.
Article 24
All language communities have the right to decide to what extent their language is to be present, as a vehicular language and as an object of study, at all levels of education within their territory: preschool, primary, secondary, technical and vocational, university, and adult education.
Section III
Proper names
Article 31
All language communities have the right to preserve and use their own system of proper names in all spheres and on all occasions.
Article 32
1. All language communities have the right to use place names in the language specific to the territory, both orally and in writing, in the private, public and official spheres.
Similarly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the states of the world on December 10, 1948 declares in its Article 26 that:
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Fully agree.
I would disagree, though with all due respect. Though I have all sympathies for the speakers of Torwali, it is absolutely impossible to cater to ALL languages. The ANP government has been particularly cautious and inclusive when it comes to the whole language thing. Counter-intuitively, it is the ANP, not the Hazara-based Muslim Leagues, that have prepared the paperwork to make Hindko a compulsory subject for the students of the Division.
It has a similar plan for Khowar (or Chitrali, as it is more commonly known out of Chitral). Catering to smaller languages or dialects is beyond the capacities of the state, any state. The argument that there is no affinity for Pashto, though valid, does not then explain why non-Urdu speakers are taught Urdu either.
Even within Pashtu, since instruction has to be in one particular dialect (one assumes that of the districts of what is called the Peshawar Valley), a lot of local Pushto dialects will die out as well.
To sum it up: should languages like Torwali be protected? Yes. Can states provide such protection to each and every language, no matter how few speakers it has? No.
Umar@
It is this chauvinism and ethnocentrism we dislike most. Many of the states in the world does protect the smaller languages.
In Pakistan they must do that. They have no alternative. If Pashto is mother tongue of many people; and based on that they want it to be used in education why this right be denied to the speakers of other languages?
Its an excellent step from KPK government and we are happy with this.I am basically from Swat and the majority people at swat and kalam bahrain are also pashtuns if still u are feeling this uncomfortable and then these places should be remained in URDU and English medium.Learning pashto will make them close to the majority population of KPK and they will feel comfort in that and i think they will prefer to learn it in schools.Some jealous people from pashtuns are opposing it but its not fair.
@Zubair: You are absolutely right. I am infact passionate not just about Torwali but also Shina. And I am also disturbed by the Urdu-isation of Punjab.
But, states have a limited capacity to respond to challenges. If there is a language, for instance, that is only spoken by the people of eight villages, it’d be downright unrealistic to assume the state, one with extremely limited resources at that, can step in.
In this case, I think the maximum that could be done would be to exempt the Torwali speaking students from Pushto and limit them only to Urdu. Even though Urdu is also a foreign language, I cannot see how this arrangement would be any better but it concerns you and if this is what you want, this is what you should get.
Umar,
We have submitted a document with the KP government to replace Pashto with Urdu at the specific area unless there is a full fledged curriculum in Torwali and Gawri ready. We do not speak in air. Actually we have been running a very successful pilot project based on Torwali and later the learners are bridged to Urdu and English. If you are a Shina speaker, who are very near to us being of the same desecent, please send me your email I will explain the whole techinical thing. We are fully prepared to develop a curriculum in our language only want the patronage of government and other agencies.
And it is not an issue of eight villages. It is an issue of more than 200,000 people whose kids are in more than 200 primary schools where the language is different from what they speak at home.
Send me your email and a short introduction I will share with you the relevant methodology; and if you are a Shina I will connect you with your people who are working for the documentation, promotion and preservation of Shina language.
So what, they should be taught in Urdu then? Apparently Urdu speakers are about 7% of the Pakistani population. Yet, everyone is forced to learn in Urdu.
If 95% of Swat’s population speak Pashto, I see no harm in that being the medium of education — even if 5% of the kids speak a different language.