The issue of the medium of instruction in Pakistan

2. Issue of Medium of Instruction
Objectives
 What is meant by Language and Medium of Instruction
 Medium of Instructions in Pakistan
 History of Medium of Instruction in Pakistan
 Basis for Determining the Medium of Instruction
 Need and Importance of English
 Merits and Demerits of Adopting Urdu/English/Mother tongue
 Problem Faced by adopting any other Medium of Instruction
 Conclusion

3. Language and Medium of Instruction
Language
 Centre of all teaching and learning activities
 Main medium and source for transmission of information and knowledge
Medium of Instruction
 Language used to teach and to impart instructions

4. Medium of Instructions in Pakistan
We have numerous options of medium of instruction in Pakistan.
• Vernacular / Mother-tongue / First language / Native language
Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki etc.
• National Language
Urdu
• Official Language
English

5. Parallel System of Education
English medium
 Middle, Upper-middle and Upper Classes
Urdu medium
 Lower-middle & working classes
Deni Madrassas
 Poor and very religious people

6. History of Medium of Instruction in Pakistan
 Urdu As National Language
 Urdu as Lingua Franca
 Multilingualism in Pakistan
 Action taken by different Governments and Review of Policy Documents
in Pakistan
• Pakistan Educational Conference (1947)
• Sarif Commission (1959)
• General Yahiya's government (1969)
• Urdu lobby & Z.A. Bhutto (1971-1977)
• The National Language Authority (1979)
• A and O level examination (1983)
• Musharraf Government (1999-2008)

7. Basis for Determining the Medium of Instruction
Some points to keep in mind before selecting a language as medium of
instruction
1) Endorse the understanding of students
2) Full command in language and confidence to speak
3) Help in raising the cognitive abilities
4) Create no sense of superiority or inferiority
5) Help the students in conceptual formation

8. Need and Importance of English in Pakistan
Due to its need and importance, English is used as a Second Language in
Pakistan due to the following reasons:
o Before partition and current official language
o International language
o Rich language
o Language of Science and Technology
o More employment opportunities
o Necessary for the Internet and Computer usage
o Gateway to Higher Education
o We can read all newspaper, magazines, research papers etc.

9. Merits and Demerits of Adopting Urdu/English/Mother tongue
Merits Demerits
1. Widely understood language in Pakistan Not a well developed & advance language
2. Integrates all people and communities Difficulty in understanding the latest advancements
3. Religious knowledge and National literature Unavailability of research work in Urdu
4. Create national integrity UMS* feel inferiority complexes
5. Teacher & students can easily understand it UMS* are unable to get good jobs
Urdu As Medium Of Instruction

10. Merits and Demerits of Adopting Urdu/English/Mother tongue
English as Medium Of Instruction
Merits Demerits
1. EMS* are able to understand latest advancements EMS* feel proud and superiority
2. Advance research and literature is in English Students feel difficulty to exchange ideas
3. Rich language and language of S&T* EMS* have a sense of inferiority about their own language
and culture
4. Gateway to Higher Education No reflection our culture, values and traditions
5. More employment opportunities Places an enormous strain on students

11. Merits and Demerits of Adopting Urdu/English/Mother tongue
Mother tongue as Medium of Instruction
Merits Demerits
1. Enhance the understandings Gives birth to cultural diversity
2. Quite natural to teach a person in Mother tongue Danger for National integrity
3. Easy to express ideas for students Many parallel systems of education
4. Promote and reflect the culture of the region Difficulty in providing all the necessary and required material
to the students in their mother tongue5. Learner gains fluency and confidence in SRW*
“It is axiomatic that the best medium for teaching a child in his mother-tongue.”
* Speaking, Reading and Writing
 21 February celebrates as the day of Mother tongue in all over the world.

12. Problem faced by the Teachers and Students by Adopting any
other Medium of Instruction except Mother tongue especially at
lower level in Pakistan
 Teacher and Students face difficulty to exchange ideas
 Level of understanding decreases
 Students get failed to integrate the knowledge
 Minds get confused

13. Conclusion
“If you speak to a man in a language he understands, you speak to head. If you speak to a
man in his own language, you speak to his heart.”
(Nelson Mandela, 2007)
 Many examples of countries which make tremendous progress without adopting
International language “English” like China, Japan, France, Iran, Russia etc.
 We should promote our own National language and should adopt it as a
medium to impart knowledge in our institutions.

14. Medium of Instruction in Pakistan
Based on a Research Paper
by Saira Ijaz Ahmad*
Muhammad Qamar ul Haq
2017-ag-574
M.Sc. Chemistry
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
September 29, 2018.
* Lecturer Govt Ibn‐e_Ameer College for Girls, Jalal Pur Jattan, Gujrat, and Doctoral Scholar at Department
of Education, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan.