A lot has been said regarding the poor quality of education. Aspects that are important enough to be addressed have also been identified. Another important factor, the medium of instruction, if left undiscussed may ruin the impact of all the corrective measures.

Urdu is being advocated as a medium of instruction and the same is the case for English. Both Urdu and English have been modifying over a period of time. Not only this, the same language varies from place to place due to different dialects. Another important point is that the literary usage of the language is very different than the day-to-day or common person’s language. It is equally important to realise the fact that all over the globe different segments of any society speaking the same language speak it with some variation. This diversity in language keeps it alive.

As far as the education system is concerned, experts need to decide the preferred medium of instruction after reviewing its existing potential, limitations and objectives.

Of course, the number of people globally who can communicate in English are far more than those who speak in Urdu. However, this does not undermine the significance of Urdu as a medium of instruction.

Education is a very different business than the learning of a language. This is where the confusion arises. Language is a means of communication but not the content of communication. Whereas the quality of education relies more on the quality of any discussion rather than its mode, it is an established fact that education dispersed in the native language is more effective. But this does not mean that an individual who is proficient in any language is highly literate as well and vice versa.

Learning in the native language develops a better understanding of the subjects but to access the international competitive market for jobs or acquiring higher education, it is important to be well-versed in other languages, e.g., English, French, German, etc., depending on the region where the job or education is based. That is one of the reasons why the International Language Testing System examination partially evaluates the comfortably speaking of a given language whereas a considerable part of the paper is based on questions that can only be attended by literate individuals. The score certifies collectively the standard of language proficiency and extent of literacy. A high score in the test is considered to be a prerequisite for getting a visa.

This probably is one of the reasons why most parents, including many who favour Urdu as the medium of instruction, send their own children to English medium schools. Little do they realise that memorising the lessons in a given language does not mean learning them. To be educated means using your own words in your own way. Other than a few good English medium schools, the situation in most is not very different from what’s going on in the Urdu medium schools. Most of the literature for higher studies, e.g., even within the country, is available in English. To effectively comprehend that literature, an individual needs to be well-versed in English. Since English is a language spoken worldwide so many languages, including Urdu have acquired words from it.

Our education system has never been developed enough to provide the literature for higher studies in Urdu only nor are we so advanced in research in all the professions that we have enough literature in Urdu to refer to.

Even most of the students who have been to Urdu medium schools find it difficult to write a paragraph in simple Urdu on any general topic without making mistakes. The curriculum in English from primary up to post-graduation level have books written in simple language, comprehensible to most of the individuals referring to them.

The situation with the textbooks available in Urdu is very different. The language used in these books is very difficult even for those students whose native language is Urdu. It is very unfortunate that, enriched vocabulary for technical terms has not yet been developed.

These are a few reasons, because of which Urdu has not been made the only medium of instruction.

The society in almost every country is multilingual. The same is true for Pakistan. The sooner we realise it the better. It is not worth wasting time arguing whether Urdu or English should be the medium of education. Both these languages can and should be taught right from the beginning to the extent that individuals can communicate easily in both.

The writer is assistant professor in the department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi.