Should Science and Technology Education in Pakistan be solely taught in Urdu?

It is generally perceived that in order to make original contribution to Science and Technology the basic knowledge must be the National language of the country. This is evidenced by huge contributions to Science and Technology by countries like Germany, Holland, France, Russia, England, Poland, Austria, Italy, China, and Japan. Pakistan's and India's Educational Framework was unfortunately left behind as a vestige of the Colonial rule. English was adopted in these countries as the language of Science and Technology simply as an expedient to avoid conflict between Urdu and Hindi with the other Provincial languages. And also because it was easier to use the English language text books left by the British than to spend time and money in translating them. As a result both India and Pakistan became borrowers and users of knowledge for a while without actually absorbing any of it into the fabric of their indigent knowledge base. This is the reason why we are having such difficulty producing real Ph. D level institutions. And this is the primary reason why foreign Ph. D graduates settled in Pakistan cannot seem to get any real research institution estabilished inspite of generous government funding.

It is obvious that where knowledge is absorbed into the local knowledge base it has a better chance of developing and growing. For example the gun copying industry in the tribal areas, the surgical tools and cutlery industry in Gujranwalla and the small scale electrical appliance industry also in Gujranwalla requires no dependance on English based knowledge for its transmission and dissemination and has flourished tremendously and has grown into a hugely successful small scale industry. And most of all has been resilient to political and economic upheavels.

Will it be worth while to invest time and money at this juncture of Pakistan to change the medium of education in Science and Technology institutions to Urdu? Please respond.

Views: 139

Reply to This

Pre-Paid Legal


Twitter Feed

    follow me on Twitter

    Sponsored Links

    South Asia Investor Review
    Investor Information Blog

    Haq's Musings
    Riaz Haq's Current Affairs Blog

    Please Bookmark This Page!




    Blog Posts

    Pakistan Pharma Begins Domestic Production of GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs

    Several Pakistani pharmaceutical companies have started domestic production of generic versions of GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) drugs Ozempic/Wegovy (Semaglutide) and Mounjaro/Zeptide (Tirzepatide). Priced significantly lower than the branded imports, these domestically manufactured generic drugs will increase Pakistanis' access and affordability to address the obesity crisis in the country, resulting in lower disease burdens and improved life quality and longer life expectancy. Obesity…

    Continue

    Posted by Riaz Haq on December 19, 2025 at 10:00am

    WIR 2026: Income and Wealth Inequality in India, Pakistan and the World

    The top 1% of Indians own 40.1% of the nation's wealth, higher than the 37% global average. This makes India one of the world's most unequal countries, according to the World Inequality Report. By contrast, the top 1% own 24% of the country's wealth in Pakistan, and 23.9% in Bangladesh. Tiny groups of wealthy elites (top 1%) are using their money to buy mass media to manipulate public opinion for their own benefit. They are paying politicians for highly favorable laws and policies to further…

    Continue

    Posted by Riaz Haq on December 15, 2025 at 1:00pm — 8 Comments

    © 2025   Created by Riaz Haq.   Powered by

    Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service