AIOU devises plan to hold research work on mother languages
ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has prepared a comprehensive plan to do research work on mother languages, in order to promote them as a strong tool of communication among different linguistic groups living in the country.
Besides, imparting basic education on languages, the university will continue to give due importance to its teaching at the higher level, said Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui while presiding over a meeting held here in connection with the International Mother Language Day.
He said the mother language would be promoted through research and by holding conferences and seminars.
Dr. Siddiqui said it was decided to further strengthen the department of Pakistani languages, which had been working in the university for the last many years and thousands of people had benefited from it.
He said the language was not just a tool of communication but an important identity mark both for an individual and the nation. It was Pakistan’s beauty that it had diversity in its culture and languages. AIOU, being the mega university would fulfill its responsibility to promote this diversity, he added.
He said the university had recently held a two-day national conference on Pakistani languages. It would be made an annual feature to achieve the desired results, maintaining unity and cohesion among the different linguistic groups.
“We are also actively engaged in teaching other important languages like Arabic, Chinese and French through online study.”
The VC said a Chinese centre of language would soon be set up at the university’s main campus, for which spade work had already been done. “We are also focusing on promoting Urdu as a ‘Dafatri’ (official) language, in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court,” he added.
Dr Siddiqui said currently the university was teaching Pakistani languages with specialization in Pashto, Balochi, Brahui, Sindhi, Saraiki and Punjabi. In this connection, online courses had also been launched that were aimed at mainly promoting mother language.
Such efforts, he said, were helping a lot to promote national integrity and solidarity. It also enabled the students to represent a constructive and positive Pakistani approach through language and literature within and outside Pakistan. It also inculcated a positive trend through understanding specific and common aspects of all the Pakistani languages, he added.
