[lg policy] Kerala (India): Protest against language policy

[Harold Schiffman]

Kerala - Kozhikode

Protest against language policy

Staff Reporter

Kozhikode: Various language teachers' associations in the State have
condemned the government policy of encouraging the mother tongue at
the expense of other languages like Arabic, Urdu and Sanskrit.  In a
joint press release, the Kerala Arabic Teachers' Federation (KATF),
Kerala Urdu Teachers' Association (KUTA) and the Kerala Sanskrit
Teachers' Federation (KSTF) alleged that these languages demanded more
time to study compared to Malayalam.

Cut in study hours

“But the government, by cutting down the study hours of these
languages in schools, is trying to reduce their importance. Though
study of the mother tongue is important, it should not be at the
expense of other languages.”  The study of Arabic, Urdu and Sanskrit
had played a major role in the educational advancement of Kerala
unlike other States where a student studied only three languages.
Instead of promoting language study, the State government was trying
to oust languages from schools, they alleged.

The associations criticised the government for cancelling the Group C
Diversion offered to language teachers for the last 42 years and
putting a stop to the Arabic, Urdu and Sanskrit examinations so far
conducted by the Commissioner of Examinations. They also flayed the
order insisting on only two languages in the new higher secondary
schools. The associations would hold a ‘Bhasha Pathana Samrakshana
Sangamam' at the Malappuram municipal bus stand auditorium on March 12
in protest against the government's attitude towards language study,
the press release said.

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