Dir writers oppose reported move to drop Pashto from curriculum

Timergara  –  Poets and writers in Lower Dir have opposed a reported proposal to remove Pashto from the school curriculum and called on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to make the language a compulsory subject up to Class 10.

The demand was made at a press conference at the District Press Club Timergara by senior poet and patron-in-chief of the Dir Pashto Literary Caravan, Syed Kifayat Yar Bukhari, along with the organisation’s president Tahir Altaf Sarhadi, general secretary Gul Muhammad Mahsoor, poet Ali Haider Kausar and other literary figures.

New girls’ degree college inaugurated in Kohat

The speakers said mother-tongue education was an important feature of education systems in many countries and maintained that regional languages had been given due importance in other provinces.

They said previous provincial governments had introduced Pashto as a compulsory subject and claimed that the move had produced positive educational outcomes for students.

The speakers urged the government and curriculum authorities to withdraw any proposal to remove Pashto from the school syllabus and instead make it compulsory up to the matriculation level, saying this would help younger generations learn and develop proficiency in their mother tongue.

New SCCI leadership urged to address traders’ concerns

The literary figures also expressed concern that poets and writers were not receiving the same level of official patronage and incentives extended to athletes, artists and performers.

They called on the provincial government to allocate funds for publishing books by Pashto poets and writers, saying such support would enable authors facing financial constraints to contribute more effectively to the promotion of the language and literature.

The speakers warned that if the reported proposal was pursued, poets, writers and authors from across the province would be mobilised to launch a campaign against it.

Kundi meets GB ministers, former KP governor

Earlier, poets from different parts of the district attended a literary gathering organised by the Dir Pashto Literary Caravan, where they recited their latest works.

Those who presented poetry included Syed Kifayat Yar Bukhari, Tahir Altaf Sarhadi, Gul Muhammad Mahsoor, Prof Sirajuddin, Anwar Khan, Hizbullah Bahar, Sardar Ali Sheikh, Tayyab Hairan, Jamshed Ghazal, Rahimullah Abshar, Imranuddin, Hamidullah Zia, Latif Sahar, Ali Haider Kausar, Amir Khan Musakhel and Ejaz.

At the conclusion of the event, the organisers thanked the District Press Club Timergara for its cooperation and appealed to media organisations to highlight their concerns at the relevant forums.

Shafi Jan rejects terrorism allegations against KP govt

NIPCO House, 4 – Shaharah e Fatima Jinnah,

Tel: +92 42 36367580    |     Fax : +92 42 36367005