Chandigarh, November 9 – Expressing deep concern over the disregard for Punjabi language in private schools, the Global Sikh Council (GSC) condemned the neglect of Punjabi teaching as mandated by both the Punjabi Acts promulgated in the state since 2008.
In a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, GSC President Lady Singh, Dr. Kanwaljit Kaur, and Secretary Harsarn Singh strongly urged him to take urgent action to enforce mandatory monthly inspections and reporting by all District Education Officers (DEOs) and District Languages Officers (DLOs) on imparting and usage of Punjabi education across all schools, especially those under private management.
Global Sikh Council President Lady Singh, Dr. Kanwaljit Kaur
They emphasised the need for proactive enforcement of the Punjabi Official Language (Amendment) Act 2008 and the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act 2008 in all educational institutions and state administrative offices. The GSC has urged to CM that schools and colleges violating Punjabi language acts should face various penalties for non-compliance and disregarding laid down the legal provisions.
Expressing deep concern over religiously motivated attacks on Punjabi language and Sikh religious identity in the state, the GSC has vehemently condemned police actions against citizens protesting the imposition of Hindi over Punjabi especially at a private school in Rampura Phul, Bathinda district.
Highlighting the mistreatment to Punjabi, the GSC has appealed to the CM to intervene promptly in reports of fines being imposed on students for speaking mother tongue Punjabi within some private schools in Punjab. The letter unequivocally condemned the ignorance and religious bias displayed by certain school administrators, including the removal of Sikh articles of faith like ‘Karas’ and imparting distorted history and mythological stories, negatively influencing impressionable students.