KARACHI:
At the time of independence, nearly 70 languages were spoken across Pakistan, but Quaid-e-Azam selected Urdu as Pakistan’s mother tongue. Although the language is still commonly spoken, it is now decaying and has been merged with other regional languages.
Globalisation has made English a universal language and it is seen as a symbol of development or progress, especially in developing countries. Therefore, English has been widely adopted in educational institutes to keep pace with the rest of the world
Even though both English and Urdu are compulsory academic subjects for students, gaps in the teaching and curriculum result in higher proficiency in one language compared to the other. For instance, expensive private schools emphasise more on English whereas public and smaller private schools adopt Urdu for teaching. This imbalance can be easily avoided if schools place similar emphasis on both languages and encourage teachers to incorporate both languages into teaching without prioritising one language over the other.
In Pakistan, proficiency in English symbolises superiority and literacy because of which employers often prefer candidates with higher proficiency in English. However, there should not be any prejudices against any language and all candidates should be selected based on skills and qualifications. We must maintain a balance between languages in academia and different professions and encourage proficiency in both English and Urdu.
Hadia Saif
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2022.
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