Language dexterity of students of Sindh is in doldrums. Scores of students are struggling to read, listen, write and speak properly in three languages: English, Sindhi and Urdu. This underscores the paucity of trained language teachers and the disastrous nuances of the current Education system. In my more-than- ten years of teaching experience, I have seen students struggling with their language competence. They cannot write well, read comprehensively, listen effectively, and they do not have good speaking skills. This is alarming.
Language, despite being a compulsory subject from class ECE to XII, is not effectively taught. 12 years of teaching and learning have been producing incomprehensive results. Research literature and countless reports on language abilities of students also paint the same gloomy picture. Moreover, the current Education Minister has been reiterating this in his public addresses for the past 5 years. However, no clear policy has been devised yet to curb this menace.
Sindh needs highly skilled language teachers with great urgency; not provided, this can turn Sindhi students into merely degree holders with no sound literacy foundation. The clock is ticking!
Babar Hussain Mastoi
Larkana
