IT is discouraging for me as a CSS aspirant to know that the Lahore High Court has ordered the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to conduct CSS examinations in Urdu.

Since its inception, the FPSC has never given this examination in Urdu. English has always been the medium.

Our government, too, has also put focus on English, while Urdu has been an optional subject in the CSS examinations till now.

I wonder why this decision has been taken all of a sudden. I am no supporter of English but the fact is we have been using it in our examinations and other correspondence for the last several decades. There are numerous academies of English language in our country but we do not find such training institutes for Urdu.

Our bureaucracy and the elite teach their children English and send them to the so-called English medium schools. If Urdu is to be promoted and we as a nation want to stand tall among the comity of nations, then we must learn our national language.

Otherwise, it will be useless to have the civil service examinations in Urdu. We must follow the model of China, Germany and France in this regard.

Syed Zeeshan Abid

Chiniot

(2)

RECENTLY, the Lahore High Court has ordered that CSS examinations be conducted in Urdu. Indeed, it is a good initiative to promote our national language, but this measure should be taken at the grassroots level.

Instead of English, Urdu should be made compulsory in our schools, colleges and universities. Those students who have studied in English throughout their academic career will face great difficulty at CSS examinations if they are asked to use Urdu.

The court should review the decision.

Muhammad Mukhtiar Shar

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2017