Experts have advised the ministry of education that primary schoolchildren should be taught in the language they understand – they should be taught in Urdu, any regional language or their mother tongue.
Shafqat Mahmood, federal minister for education, professional training, national heritage and culture, has said that schoolchildren will be taught English as part of the syllabus however.
The minister was responding to a question from a Twitter user who had asked, “Where can we access the language of instruction policy?”
In response, Shafqat wrote, “We had a national consultation on this issue. It was the unanimous advice of all experts that in primary classes children should study in the language they can understand. This means Urdu in most places or any mother tongue the provinces wish to choose. English will be taught too.”
We had a national consultation on this issue. It was the unanimous advice of all experts that in primary classes children should study in the language they can understand. This means Urdu in most places or any mother tongue the provinces wish to choose. English will be taught too https://t.co/Jgqqp0ubH0
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) August 15, 2020
Shafqat, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Lahore, also said, “Urdu and English will be compulsory subjects in places where mother tongue is the main medium of instruction in primary classes.”