Mother tongues: Education in mother-tongue stressed

Language diversity should be celebrated and children must be imparted education in their mother tongues. This was the consensus among participants at a policy dialogue on “Language in Education in Pakistan” in Islamabad on Wednesday, said a press release issued by the British Council.

The dialogue brought together participants from the civil service, the education sector, non-government and government organisations and donor agencies.

The discussion focused on the role of mother tongue education in the early years of schooling.

The various issues discussed by the group included the need for enhanced teacher training, the need to undertake research on mother languages, and the necessity of reaching a national consensus on education policies.

At the event, the British Council also launched its latest publication, “Language in Education in Pakistan”, which is a synthesis of two years of research on mother tongue education in Pakistan.

Addressing the audience, one of the authors of the book, Hywell Coleman, said, “I witnessed a genuine concern from everyone present to address the issues of language in education and recognition that these are issues that are going to take a lot of time and effort to address.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2012.