Soon Urdu may become a part of the mainstream schools curriculum, as the government plans to give a major boost to the language during 12th plan period. A proposal to this effect is set to become a part of the 12th plan document, which is in the penultimate stages of its finalisation.
In a separate chapter on “minority welfare”, a copy of which is with this newspaper, prepared by a steering committee for Plan document, it has been suggested that Urdu should not be “limited only to Madarsas”, rather “the language should be taken to mainstream schools”. For this purpose attempts should be made to ensure “massive recruitment” of Urdu teachers in mainstream schools controlled by the state boards and CBSE, it added.
Maintaining that Urdu assumes importance as a prominent language and medium of thought, learning, communication and culture of the nation beyond social, religious and regional boundaries, the steering committee’s final report, says: “Necessary support and efforts should be made to promote Urdu as a living language. It should be promoted as a language in which economic and social transactions are conducted, in addition to being a literary tradition interwoven with religious harmony.”
The report went on to further suggest that the appointment of “Urdu teachers in this context needs to be carried out in an expanded manner with adequate funding not only to Madarsas, but also in promoting the language in more mainstream schools and colleges”.
Taking the school education for Muslim children beyond Madarsas to ensure “the best quality learning, the report has also suggested that the endeavour in the 12th Plan “should be towards having one Residential School along the lines of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, which should be established in a phased manner in minority concentration Blocks and minority concentration towns/cities and norms in these schools need to ensure admission to at least 50 per cent children belonging to minorities”. “There is a need to introduce a programme through which bicycles are provided to the minority girl students to facilitate the continuance of their studies. Some States are already implementing schemes to provide bicycles. The envisaged new scheme at the Central level may be rationalized and converged appropriately with the state scheme(s).”