HEC skips Urdu in undergraduate policy

Body's decision leaves the future of the native language in doubt

KARACHI:

In a country where communicating in the native language has emerged to be a signifier of mediocrity among the so-called educated classes, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC)'s decision to exclude Urdu as a compulsory course from its new undergraduate policy will surely act as the final nail in the coffin of the stepmother tongue.

As per the Commission's new policy, Urdu language and literature would not be a mandatory or elective subject in four-year BS programs offered by universities, five-year professional programs accredited by councils, or two-year associate degree programs offered by colleges.

Initially, the policy had also replaced Pakistan Studies with "Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan" as a mandatory course among 11 others under the general education category however, the decision was soon reversed.

Although, Dr Anila Amber Malik, Secretary of the Affiliation Committee at the University of Karachi, claimed that Urdu too had been retained as a mandatory subject in the university for the graduation levels, Professor Irfan Shah, faculty at the Government Sirajud Daula College in Karachi revealed that initially Urdu was a mandatory subject in undergraduate programs however, when the Higher Education Commission (HEC) made it an elective subject, most private universities seized the opportunity to discontinue instruction in Urdu altogether.

"Consequently, Urdu has been entirely removed from the undergraduate curriculum," confirmed Shah.

Shah's revelations were supported by an inquiry led by The Express Tribune, which revealed that most universities in the private sector had discontinued instruction in Urdu.

Furthermore, even in affiliated colleges of the University of Karachi or University of Lyari where Urdu was taught, the focus was on Urdu literature rather than functional Urdu that students could utilize practically.

Nabila Rehman, Head of the Oriental College at the University of Punjab was of the opinion that Urdu should be made a compulsory subject since it was synonymous with our national identity.

"Now, the national language is being abolished while other languages are being given priority in the society. Rural children are also being separated from Urdu and are being pushed towards English. English is being promoted so that our children can compete in the global arena, but as Pakistanis we should not forget the sacrifices of our elders who gave us a separate identity through Urdu," bemoaned Rehman.

Renowned Urdu writer and poet, Farasat Rizvi, expressed his concerns regarding the removal of Urdu from the undergrad curriculum; a move, which in his opinion, was akin to the destruction of the national culture. "We are killing our culture by removing arts, Urdu, and linguistics from the syllabus.

This is being done by the federal government through the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Urdu encompasses literature, fiction, novels, drama, poetry, and much more that shape our culture and inspires our youth.

But now our focus has shifted to producing a society driven by materialism and globalization. Interestingly, Urdu is being taught at the undergrad level at universities in European countries, India, Bangladesh and Iran as part of the field of Oriental Languages.

These countries are much ahead of us yet they value languages," lamented Rizvi, who reminded that the Supreme Court had ordered the implementation of Urdu as the national and official language in September 2015 yet the HEC was removing it from the curriculum.

While the Arts Council of Pakistan hosts an annual Urdu Conference bringing together experts from Pakistan and around the world to promote and develop Urdu language and literature, it is ironic to note that the Higher Education Commission (HEC), which falls under the Federal Ministry of Education, has made Urdu an elective subject in undergraduate programs.

Worse still, this decision was made during the tenure of Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the current Minister of Education, who hails from Karachi, considered the hub of Urdu.

Professor Badshah Munir, former faculty of Urdu at the University of Peshawar, told the Express Tribune that Urdu was still taught as a compulsory subject at the intermediate level however, at the BS level in university, Urdu subjects were still optional.

"Although what HEC has done regarding the new development is not known, our education department and HEC are not doing any work for the promotion of Urdu language," conceded Munir.

"We have no information about the removal of Urdu as a compulsory subject and in this regard, a meeting was held in our Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa Higher Education Department in which we presented the Urdu syllabus but we have not yet received any communication regarding the removal of Urdu subjects," claimed Prof Dr Salman Ali, Chairman Urdu Department, University of Peshawar.

In an attempt to inquire further on the matter, The Express Tribune contacted HEC's Executive Director, Dr Zia ul Qayyum and Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed to understand the Commission's stance on removing Urdu from the undergraduate program however, both Dr Zia and Dr Ahmed avoided responding. With input from Muhammad Ilyas and Wisal Yousafzai