Education & LearningEnglish Precis & CompositionEssays for Competative ExaminationsPakistan AffairsPSC/CSS

Single National Curriculum

Spread the love

Single National Curriculum | Complete Essay with Outline

Essay Outline

  • Introduction
  • English Language – The Polarisation
    • English or a Local Language
    • Supporters of Local Language
    • Supporters of English
  • The Language Ladder
    • Mother Language of Language of Environment
    • Urdu Language
    • English Language
  • Misconceived Language Ideas
    • Hybrid Language System
    • The Rote Culture
    • Demolarization
    • Struggle between Cognitive Development and Language Learning
  • Issues and Solution
    • Corruption
    • Misgovernance
    • Poor Learning Tools
    • Need for Reform
  • Conclusion

The discourse on language in education has taken the intelligentsia by storm in the wake of the Single National Curriculum (SNC). The polarisation between various points of view is so intense that a meaningful debate is impossible. It is intriguing why the supporters of English distort some issues beyond recognition. Hence here is another attempt to clarify issues.

First, it must be restated that the discussion is not whether children should learn English or a local language. Those who support the local languages as the medium of instruction have always added ‘and English must be taught as a foreign language’. I have yet to figure out why we are accused of pushing out English from our education system to make our children backwards and incapable of handling technology. It seems to imply that even if we are failing to teach English correctly it is fine so long as we stick to our mantra of English and English alone.

The supporters of English also imply that if a child starts her education in one of our indigenous languages, her education comes to a dead end and she can never learn English thereafter. We must remember that we are not a country of fools. All the highly qualified people from earlier generations began their primary schooling in a native language and that includes Prof Abdus Salam, our only Nobel Laureate in science.

SEE ALSO: Top #5 Education Related Complete Essays with Outline | Essayspedia

My position, like that of many others, is simple. When the child starts schooling, let her continue her education that began in her cot in her mother tongue or the language of the environment with which she is already familiar. She can start learning Urdu, the language of wider communication, a few years later. English should be introduced even later and as a foreign language. It is the language ladder that needs to be discussed. That means we have to decide which language should be introduced when and how. For instance, if English is introduced before the child’s hold over her mother tongue has been consolidated she will be dumbed. In other words, she will not learn any language or communicate coherently.

Language experts in Pakistan mainly study socio-linguistics and do not go into the physiology/anatomy of language acquisition which is a natural process. Dr Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, psychiatrist and educationist, wrote about the language organ more than 100 years ago. Noam Chomsky is now speaking about it after retracting his universal grammar theory. This organ comprises the speech and hearing mechanisms and the Broca’s centre in the brain where comprehension takes place. These develop in coordination in a child from the time of birth and follow a certain pattern. This is Mother Nature’s way. Our attempts at tampering with it amounts to trying to make an infant walk even before it can sit.

Even Lord Babington Macaulay didn’t try to perform this miracle in his infinite wisdom. The brown sahibs he envisaged began their English learning at the secondary level.

What is the result of our misconceived language ideas? To see that, just step into the classroom of a so-called English medium school in a low-income area. You will be shocked at the hybrid language system it follows. The textbooks are in English but the teachers have no competency in the language. They read the text in broken English, explain it in Urdu, write the questions in English on the board, and copy the answers in English from key books (which should, in any case, be consigned to a bonfire). The children dutifully memorise what they copy from the board. They understand nothing. This is the rote culture which stays with them for life. Since the teachers don’t know any better nothing can change. It demoralises them for life.

There is another insidious evil this hybrid system breeds. The child struggles with an ‘alien’ language at a time when her mind is growing and cognitive development is taking place. She fails to learn how to think critically or write coherently. This phenomenon of a struggle between cognitive development and language learning is present in the students of the elite English-medium private schools as well. The focus on mentoring in their pedagogy and the overload of private tuition manage to mask the shortcoming. This damage is irreparable.

Finally, an appeal to private English-medium schools. They are trendsetters and owe a moral and ethical responsibility to society to think of the greatest good for the greatest number.

Admittedly, it is the government that is basically at fault. The poor learning outcomes in government and low-cost private schools are due to corruption, misgovernance and poor learning tools that include the language of instruction. Reform is needed and only the government can undertake it. Without the language issue being addressed, reform will not be a holistic and integrated process and will not work. Unfortunately, the SNC is diverting attention from the real issues.

READ NEXT: The Status of Online Education in Pakistan | Complete Essay with Outline | Essayspedia

By Zubeida Mustafa

Cover Photo Courtesy

The essays included here are from numerous sources or authors (sources mentioned in each essay). The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this Essay are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of Essaypspedia/Tech Urdu. The most important question is ‘how to write an essay?’ The answer varies from person to person. Yet, the main purpose of Essaypspedia/Tech Urdu is to give you an idea of the essays. It is now up to you, being an aspirant of the competitive examinations, to edit/update/improve/add in it. You can also submit your essays at tulaib_javid@yahoo.com. If you find any copy-righted content, please contact us prior any proceeding we’ll be glad to resolve any such issues.

Follow the link to get the Largest Collection of Download FREE Books/Notes for all Public Service Commission (PSC) Examinations including FPSC/KPSC/PPSC/BPSC/SPSC or CSS/PMS/PCS/IAS/Tehsildar, etc and other Competitive Examinations.
https://techurdu.net/download-free-books-notes/

Follow the link to get a list of FREE ESSAYS for All Competitive Examinations (CSS/PCS/PMS/Tehsildar,etc) by Expert Writers:
https://essayspedia.blogspot.com/

Follow the link to get the Largest Collection of Download FREE Books/Reports/Thesis/Term Papers/Publications/Powerpoint Presentations/Estimates, etc on Forestry/Wildlife and other Environmental Sciences.
https://forestrypedia.com/important-downloads/


Spread the love

Naeem Javid

Naeem Javid Muhammad Hassani is working as Deputy Conservator of Forests in Balochistan Forest & Wildlife Department (BFWD). He is the CEO of Tech Urdu (techurdu.net) Forestrypedia (forestrypedia.com), All Pak Notifications (allpaknotifications.com), Essayspedia, etc & their YouTube Channels). He is an Environmentalist, Blogger, YouTuber, Developer & Vlogger.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Exit mobile version