Srinagar: On International Mother Language Day, the Kashmiri Language Union (KLU) Friday urged the government to fill all the vacant posts of Kashmiri teachers and make the subject compulsory upto 10th standard.
The union members demanded government intervention for protecting Kashmiri language and stressed on the need for new recruitments to fill vacant positions of Kashmiri language educators.
The union held a peaceful protest at Sher-e-Kashmir Park here to press for their demands.
Majid Ganaie, a union member said that under National Education Policy (NEP), steps have been taken for the promotion of Kashmir language but things mentioned in the policy aren’t being fulfilled on ground.
He said that there aren’t special educators available in the schools, so Kashmiri is often taught by teachers of other subjects, who are unable to do justice with it.
Dr Rifat said that due to unknown reasons, people in Kashmir feel disgrace in speaking Kashmiri language and “why a child is being taught other languages when he is still in the cradle and it seems we ourselves have been degrading our language.”
She said that Kashmiri language is the identity of the people and it needs to be preserved.
Ashiq Hussian Lone, another member of the association said that every year 200-300 students have been completing their post graduate in Kashmiri and if government won’t take up recruitment process for scholars of Kashmiri, where will they go and then who will show inclination towards the mother language as so far no recruitment has taken place.
He claimed that around 5000 posts of Kashmir subject are lying vacant in the school education department and they need to be filled at an earliest. “If up to 8th class Kashmiri subjects are compulsory, the question here is who teaches Kashmiri language in schools,” he said.
Bilal Ahmad Lone, another scholar, said that this language is facing challenges at public and government level.
He said that parents too are responsible for this as they prefer to teach their beloved the other languages. He said that everybody needs to take steps for the promotion of the language.
Union members said that they have brought these issues to the notice of LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah and they are hopeful of positive steps in this regard.
They have once again requested concerned authorities to look into the matter at an earliest and take immediate steps in this regard—(KNO)
