How can students show better fluency, competence and performance in English when we refuse to teach them the language?
CHARSADDA: For a long time an idea has been revolving in my mind as to why science subjects, written in English, particularly at the Intermediate and Bachelor levels, are being taught in Pashto or Urdu to students in different parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. All over the world, standardised tests in science subjects are held in English, with no special provisions for students who learn these subjects in Urdu. The medium of teaching science cannot and should not be any other language but English. Adopting any other language to teach science would be a disservice to students. I would like to request the authorities of the province’s education department to order all colleges to stick with English for teaching students.
We keep complaining about our students weak English skills. But then, the teachers, too, do not make any effort to familiarise them with the language, aiming instead to prune the language out of the syllabus completely. How can students show better fluency, competence and performance in English when we refuse to teach them the language?
Mohammad Fayyaz
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
