Importance of English in Pakistan

As time is passing, the language of the English men and Americans seems to grow in significance. English is becoming the most common form of communication in the world and most of the countries in the world have their academic curriculum being taught in English. It is time for Pakistan to also make a shift from the Urdu medium system of education to the English system because it's the need of the hour.

Since independence, Urdu was promoted to become the language to be used in all factions of the country.

However as time passed people started realizing that international standards required them to learn a language which is understood by majority of the world. The people of Pakistan realized that for their country to develop they need to know how to communicate in English or they will be lost in the competing forces of the world.

The British education system was introduced after few years of independence. People started shifting from the local Urdu medium education to the British education system.

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However the transition took a lot of time as private school sector was very small in the beginning. Only the elite could educate their children with the British education system as it was very expensive. However when the trend of private schools began to emerge, students from a British educational background were preferred for jobs all over the country. The government of Pakistan realized the growing importance of English and then made English as a compulsory language to be taught in all schools.

English continues to be the source of communication in both the private and government offices. In this era of globalization with increasing amounts of international trade one needs to know how to communicate in English. People in Pakistan are in continuous contact with international traders and all of them have to communicate in English.

The various business software used in organizations such as Multinational Companies and Banks are all in English and one needs to be totally familiar with the language to operate them. There are various critics who believe that English is harmful for the country. They argue that our culture and our traditions require Urdu to be the language for all purposes. They say that by adopting English we are going to forget our culture and lose our identity as English is not what defines us.

The trend of communicating in English has grown to the extent that the elite of the country use English as the medium to communicate with their friends and family in daily life. The younger generation feels inferior if they can not communicate in English properly. Many of the young children have a stronger grip of English than Urdu. Majority of the population in the country now prefers the British education system and public schools are only filled by people of the lower income class who could not afford private education.

No doubt learning English is very important for the people of Pakistan but they should not forget that it is not the language which defines them or their culture. English should be used as a medium of education but the value of the mother language Urdu should not be undermined.