Medium For Education

It is a dilemma that to address a nation whose majority is not able to speak English, yet for the change in system, English is the only medium to target the intelligentsia of the country. In the reign of Mughals Persian was the court language and Urdu became the linking language throughout the subcontinent slowly and gradually. Urdu became the national language of the Muslims of India as its roots could be trace to Persian, Arabic, and Turkish languages. Today when we have a separate homeland for Muslims, Urdu is still considered as a second-rate language. This is the reason that a graduate who has completed his education in English-medium is considered to be highly qualified than that of a graduate in Urdu-medium.

Students who pass their matriculation exams in Urdu-medium are usually not able to confront their fellows whose medium had been English. Other than inferiority complex among Urdu-medium students, it is not untrue that the students in English-medium are much more confident of what they are. Whatever the reason may be for this behavior, but it is a great factor of confusion among the masses. People force their children to study in English-medium but in the end neither the parents nor their children learn to speak, write and understand English language efficiently. Hence, we all are hanging somewhere in the middle, unable to define our identity.

Education is one of the basic necessities of a man to be called a ‘man’. Human is also a social animal and the only thing by which he is differentiated from other animals is his mind. By utilizing his mind, man makes oneself educated.

Education is something that polishes the power of creativity of the human mind. And mother-tongue is the basic tool for creativity. People can be creative using a foreign language but to a very limited extent. If prosperity and progress of masses is required, then the mass has to be creative – and in one’s own language. It is as simple a formula as two times two makes four.

Medium for the education in Pakistan should be Urdu. Not only will it eradicate the linguistic differences among the different provinces of Pakistan but will also strengthen the unity among fellow countrymen. All the subjects including physics, chemistry, biology and the rest of the science, social sciences and arts subjects, be translated into Urdu – and without any inferiority complex. English should be taught as a language subject only, but with its full essence. Then they should be taught to the students by the teachers who complete command over their respective subjects.

If we look upon the countries like china, Japan, Germany, France, Russia and many others, these countries have their educational systems in their respective tongues and they do not even allow English to influence them; yet they are far ahead from us in terms of education.

The point to ponder is that the nations which build their worlds and compel the other nations to salute their greatness and recognize them as world powers; yet they do not ask for foreign minds to be imported for their sake. They build themselves high by their own creativity. And the first thing any progressed nations do for its honor and dignity in the world is that it makes education system strong – by translating the knowledge into their own language.

Need of the hour is to make one educational system in the whole country, and its medium be Urdu.