Is Pashto not important for schoolchildren?

Recently, the issue on Pashto being taught as a subject in schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, was trending on Twitter. However, it turned out that no one was abolishing the language subject from the syllabus of schools, but rather students of fifth grade would not be tested on the subject in the board examinations that were recently held between March 7 and 12.

In a story that was carried in The Express Tribune when reservations were being expressed, a schoolteacher in Peshawar was quoted as saying that the K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Department had stated that students in the fifth grade would be tested on six subjects, including Urdu, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Islamiat.

The schoolteacher said that since the schedule did not include any exam on Pashto, they contacted the education department, requesting to include the paper. However, he said the officials in the department said they did not have the permission from higher authorities to do so.

It seems like the issue started with the authorities and ended there – surfaced on a certain level, then vanished. Those actually involved — the teachers— do not seem to be taken into the question. For instance, it was not questioned whether the language is being taught at schools just like it used to be decades ago. Nor was it asked if there are books of Pashto language and literature available to students.

I believe the higher authorities are not compelled to test schoolchildren on Pashto because they are not prepared for the tests. I base my viewpoint on a teacher’s statement, who, when asked, said that Pashto is not taught at government schools in the same manner in which other subjects are taught, with proper reading material. He was teaching at a government school in Peshawar since 2010 and said he had not seen the subject being taught since the time he had joined the school. It was said that the decision, however, has not been imposed by the government, but has been taken by the teachers themselves.

I know many people argue against the system of examinations, but since it is there, excluding a subject from the exam schedule only reflects its insignificance to students. Literature in the native language should be a compulsory subject and a habit should be nurtured among students so that they can stay in touch with their origins or the broader identity of their region, if the language is not part of their origins.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2016.