KABUL, Mar 31 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Speakers urged the government on Friday to implement mother-tongue, particularly Pashto, as a medium of instructions, in schools.  

The scholars underlined the need of mother-tongue in educational institutions and slammed government for ignoring Pashto language. An overcrowded workshop entitled 'Mother-Tongue Teaching Workshop' was held here attended by Deputy Minister for Education Seddiq Patman, representatives from various ministries and officials of civil society and academic institutions.  

Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister for Education Seddiq Patman said he felt sorry for speaking on behalf of the government, which was often blasted for giving little heed to mother-tongue in schools.

"Unfortunately, team of the education ministry except its minister and deputy minister have some prejudices with the issue of medium instruction in schools," Patman said.

Schools were not the place to inculcate in the children minds biasness, he said, adding they had received 5,000 applications regarding mother-tongue from only Ahmad Shah Baba quarter of Kabul. He vowed the ministry would make all-out efforts to tackle the issue of medium of instructions during the academic year that had just commenced. Patman said the ministry had planned to introduce mother-tongue as medium of instructions in all schools of Kabul and then extend it to other parts of the country.

On this occasion, head of the Encyclopedia Department in the Afghanistan's Science Academy Habibullah Rafi, said the government was giving short shrift to the people call for brining a balance in the two major languages of the country that was creating problem for administration of educational institutions.

Recalling her class story, Shkala, 12, a student said her teacher taunted her when she was giving answer in Pashto to a question asked in Dari. "Get lost, was the reply of my teacher for my answer in Pashto," she added.  With narrating such tragic status of Pashto language, the 12-year-old girl spread a blanket of silence on the entire hall.

Farid Ahmad, Commissioner of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, said the constitution enshrined the right to impart education in their mother tongue and now the government had to honour the draft.

Habib Rahman Ibrahimi

by/rh