Strongly condemning the Congress Government’s decision to introduce English as medium of instruction in 2,750 State-run schools, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday called it ‘an anti-Punjab and anti-Punjabi step’ which would undermine the prospects of Punjabi language in the very State where it enjoyed the status of official language.
“We all know the mother tongue plays a great role in human development. However, by depriving our younger minds from enjoying the privilege of learning in Punjabi language, the Congress government is doing the opposite...I wonder about the wisdom of Congress government which assumes that changing of just the medium of instruction would result in improving the quality of education in the state,” said SAD spokesman and senior vice president Daljit Singh Cheema.
Criticizing the “unnecessary haste” being shown by the state government for starting English medium classes in 400 schools in first phase, Cheema said that it had not hired a single English teacher for the purpose. How it would provide quality education in absence of the competent facultyIJ he asked.
“Apart from it, there were not enough Punjabi teachers available in those 1953 schools where the government intends to start English medium classes. This exercise will definitely have a cascading effect on the students studying in Punjabi medium as well,” he added.
Rejecting the Education Minister’s contention that the move was to bridge the gap with private schools, Cheema said that even Punjabi scholars and writers have completely refused to buy this theory.
“It is definitely not the medium of instruction which is lagging the government schools behind in race with their private competitors. From the basic infrastructure to competent faculty, cohesive learning environment to student-friendly education policies, all play a decisive role in successfully promoting the state on the education map,” he added.
Pointing that history speaks in volumes about conspiracies hatched by successive Congress governments to work against the interests of Punjab and Punjabi language, Cheema said: “Its latest attempt of introducing English as medium of instruction in schools aims at demolishing the rich heritage of Punjab by pushing the Punjabis away from their culture.”