KARACHI, Oct 7: Students are not happy about the Sindh government’s decision to make the teaching of Sindhi subject — with immediate effect — compulsory for Urdu speaking students in intermediate classes in the province.
They say the government had come up with the idea of Sindhi Salees (Simple) teaching all of a sudden without meeting prerequisites or considering various aspects. As such, students would have to bear the brunt of “a move, which people at the helm of affairs had been abstaining from in the past”.
In interviews with Dawn, students and senior teachers said the teaching of Sindhi to Urdu speaking students at intermediate level and its examination by educational boards needed some serious exercise, otherwise the whole lot of class XI students in general, and the meritorious ones in particular, would have to sit as losers.
The federal government curriculum wing in August 2005, in a letter from the Sindh Education Department, revised the scheme of studies at the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) level in connection with Urdu compulsory, carrying 200 marks, for the province of Sindh.
While as a follow-up action to Islamabad’s approval of its request, the Sindh Education Department on Sept 27 notified that Urdu-speaking students would be required to study Sindhi Salees, carrying 100 marks for the HSC examinations, in class XI, with immediate effect.
According to the notification, the federal government directive had been adopted by the Sindh Education Department, and Urdu Compulsory, would carry only 100 marks instead of 200 marks in future.
Copies of the notification have been circulated among the educational boards and executive district officers (education) of the district governments and other concerned.
Urdu would be taught as a compulsory subject in class XII and Sindhi as a compulsory one in class XI.
The Sindh Textbook Board, a couple of days ago, marketed a Sindhi book written some eight years back, while nothing could be known about the content and shape of the new Urdu compulsory book.
Students, including position holders of various examinations, recently expressed their concern on the issue, saying introduction of Sindhi Salees course was an unrequired exercise, and it would not add any further good to students, who had already read the subject in schools for years.
Speaking about the newly published “Asan Sindhi Kitab” for Urdu speaking students, a teacher said it contained topics or details about places and personalities of Sindh, which students had already been taught either in the subjects of Sindhi, Urdu or Pakistan Studies.
As far as the point of homogeneity and promotion of sense of coherence among students was concerned, that could be fulfilled adequately by adding more in depth material about Sindh-related issues and personalities in Urdu, Social Studies, Pakistan Studies and other books, added the teacher.
Opposing the idea of Sindh Salees and slashing of Urdu papers in intermediate classes, students belonging to Science and Commerce faculties said that in a situation when they were already not at ease with the compulsory teaching of literature books, as those affected
Students worried over govt decision their aggregate marks in exams, the addition of another subject would further overburden them.
Students having passed their matriculation exams from the federal or other educational boards of the country, or those having done their O-level, said they had never been taught Sindhi at any stage, and, therefore, imposing Sindhi as a compulsory subject was nothing but to penalize them, or a step to discourage them for migrating for education to the Sindh province.
While about 70 days of the current academic session have already lapsed, the teaching of Sindhi in colleges cannot be carried out in a fair manner in the remaining period.
Selection of topics and provision of teachers for Sindhi, formation of subject committee at the educational board, short listing of senior teachers for paper setting, and selection of qualified and experienced teachers for assessment are the exercises needed to be addressed carefully and on priority basis.
At present, there are about 40 to 50 Sindhi subject teachers in colleges supposed to teach the Sindhi (normal) course at a limited number of colleges.
For the Sindhi Salees, another 150-170 teachers for about 121 colleges would be required. About 65-70 thousand students are normally enrolled in the first year.
When contacted, the EDO Higher Education, Prof Raees Alvi, said he had received the Sindh government notification about teaching Sindhi compulsory to Urdu speaking students and would certainly move the Sindh government further on the issue for some clarifications.
In case regular appointments of Sindhi teachers are not made, college principals would have to appoint cooperative teachers from their own funds, but that too would require some time. The minimum qualification for such teachers would be a master’s degree, he added.