IAC to promote indigenous languages

Lahore: Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) has laid the foundation for the first centre in the country, Maaboli Centre, dedicated to the protection and advancement of indigenous languages of Pakistan.The Maaboli Centre at IAC aims to not only study the role of language in culture and art of Pakistan, it also aims to create an integrated programme for cultural development and education, covering all aspects of culture from the tangible to the intangible.A five-day event at IAC was held between May 3 till May 8 and noted scholar and lawyer Dr Farooq Bajwa from London was invited to participate in the discussions as the chief guest. He was briefed on the fieldwork completed. Future line of action was for the centre discussed with him. The centre aims to examine the role of mother tongue in education through community participation.It is set to expand on the language offering by at university including Seraiki, Pashto, Sindhi, Brahui and other languages. It will also undertake mother tongue advocacy at the governmental and legislative level.“An important aspect of this centre will be the off campus work with local communities as it is a universal fact that children learn better when taught in their mother tongue. The current education systems in Pakistan negate the existing diversity of people, multiplicity of languages, and the plurality of cultures.The Maaboli Centre will support the local schools in terms of curriculum development and teacher training for Punjabi language courses, thereby streamlining the process of teaching in local languages,” said IAC Vice-Chancellor Prof Sajida Vandal.“The Maaboli Centre for indigenous languages is a practical solution to a language debate that dates back more than 200 years. Schools should be encouraged and empowered to teach in the indigenous languages as well as in English,” said Professor Mushtaq Soofi, who along with Prof Naveed Alam, is playing an important role in organising the centre.

from The News International - Lahore http://bit.ly/2V6huLK