Now a days all of a sudden a spate of columns and letters have started coming emphasising the need of mode of education in mother language. One such Ahmed Parekh in DAWN 20 April 2004 has quoted the example of Germany and Japan. He completely forgot what Germany and Japan are and why they could afford it.
Significant to note is this all of a sudden spate of writing is parallel to attempt to re-write Pakistani history by removing any reference to Hindu pre-partition cruelty and removal of Quranic verses from text books.
Why tribal leaders in Balochistan, Sindh etc have always opposed opening of schools in their areas we all know. The real eye soring for some is that despite every sussessful effort to damage the education like by low education budgets etc children of poor segments still keep getting education and sometime these municipality educated children stand face to face in competition with children of fur-fur speaking English burger-feed children. Hence since two decades emphasis is being given that education should be in mother language so that these children could be deprived even from basic English language.
In small towns and villages of Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP medium of education already is Sindhi, Balouchi and Pahstoo. Only punjab is a provice where due to almost non existance of written punjabi language medium is Urdu. Where ever there is a little English level these circles wish that too to be stopped.
I had 18 years worked in middle east. When early 1980 ordinary Arab used to criticise his governments why there are English correspondence staff from Pakistan India etc. These people had proud on their Arabic language and hated English language (except of course when they saw a white skin they always try to prove shaking hand or speaking a word with this white skin will take them direct to heaven). Early 1990s after Iraq-Kuwait war when Arab world faced dire economic crisis it dawned even on ordinary Arab that English language was the only international language, at least for third world countries, which is a must to remain in the stream. Average Arab people started sending their children to English schools and those who could not afford due to high fees they admitted their children in Pakistani and Indian schools. In Arab countries education upto 10th class is free with Arabic medium of instruction. Egyptians working in middle east do not get their children admitted into these schools rather they admit them in Pakistani Indian schools.
So-called intellectual Hanif Ramay wrote a book “Punjab Ka Maqdmah” in which he stated Pujab could not prepare a leader and punjabis are backword because Punjabis did not adopt punjabi as medium of instruction in schools. He advised that punjabis can only progress if they adopt punjabi medium in schools. Like Pakistani politician psych he gave this advice only after when he had got all his own children/grand children educated in English American schools.