Urdu to be exempted on medical grounds

Critics say IBCC's discriminatory decision risks further excluding the national language from school curricula

KARACHI:

A student recovering from an illness maybe exempted from an exam on the grounds of their compromised ability to study however, as the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) exempts O’Level students from the Urdu exam on medical grounds, it appears to convey the strange message that sickness only impacts students’ ability to read and write a particular language.

In the recent notification issued by the IBCC, it has been clearly mentioned that O ‘Level students appearing for their examinations on medical grounds will be exempted from the compulsory subject of Urdu. In this notification issued by IBCC’s Assistant Director, referring to the 173rd meeting of the Inter-Boards Coordination Commission held on September 30, it has been announced that a student must provide proof of their medical condition in order to be allowed an exemption for the Urdu exam.

It is worth mentioning that English, Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies and Mathematics have been included in the eight compulsory subjects of O-level in Pakistan on IBCC’s website, which is clear in a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Education in June 2023. Regarding the National Curriculum of Pakistan, it has been announced that Urdu, English, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Entrepreneurship and Islamic Studies have been approved for Grades nine to 12.

The announcement has sparked a new debate among the educational circles, with some teachers questioning as to why the students were being allowed an exemption on medical grounds from the subject of Urdu only when an exemption from any compulsory subject could be sought on medical grounds.

A teacher of Urdu felt that the IBCC could have issued a notification in which either no subject or all the compulsory subjects were mentioned. “This general exemption from the subject of Urdu only is a discriminatory move. It is now going to benefit every student who does not want to study Urdu since anyone can misuse medical grounds to avoid taking an exam,” said the teacher.

According to Dr Irfan Shah, Professor of Urdu at the Government City College, Karachi, such a notification is beyond the jurisdiction of the IBCC. “This is a matter related to the National Curriculum, which can only be decided by the Bureau of Curriculum. All kind of exemptions related to compulsory subjects can only be decided there. The surprising thing is that such decisions are being made by the subordinate bodies of a federal minister whose mother tongue is Urdu as well,” noted Dr Shah.

On the other hand, when The Express Tribune contacted IBCC’s Director Meetings Aamar Gilani, he conveyed his unawareness of the matter, maintaining his stance that this was a specific case, and no general notification had been issued. “A student had sought exemption from Urdu on medical grounds, but they have not submitted medical documents yet. However, when the correspondent read out the notification to him, he inquired about how the notification came to be accessible. “I have to see in this regard when and how the general notification was issued,” responded Gilani.

What is interesting to note here is that the notification of exemption without submitting medical documents is itself indicative of the issuance of a general notification in which students were exempted from the compulsory subject of Urdu on medical grounds.