PU students forced to study Punjabi!

The recent announcement by Punjabi University (PU) of making Punjabi language compulsory for all at undergraduate professional level has shocked the outside students. According to the new system, all students must learn Punjabi and clear the papers for obtaining a degree. The Patiala-based university has over 221 colleges and institutes affiliated to it.

This step was supposedly taken to promote the language. The state has also made it a compulsory subject in schools from standard I to X.

Notably, this decision was taken in June but the order was issued only last week after completing the admission process. Students from other states who have taken  admission in the university are feeling cheated as they were not informed about this during the admission process, besides they have never studied Punjabi.

Previously, Punjabi was a must for BA students but from 2012-13 session, it has been made a qualifying subject for BSc, BCom and other professional undergraduate students, which needs to be cleared in one semester. Some University officers said that this decision was not disclosed previously as it would have impacted admissions, as per the news report. Read more

Apart from this, under the implementation of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Scheme (RSMA), the state’s education department upgraded around 200 middle schools to secondary schools for imparting quality education, making it accessible and affordable to students between 14-18 years. Education minister Sikandar Singh Maluka said that this is for the bright future and careers of the children while aiming for 75 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2012-13 and 100 per cent GER by 2016-17.  He also added that the state government will spend Rs 369 crore to provide additional classrooms, teachers and other facilities in these upgraded schools to meet this challenge towards achieving the goal of universalization of secondary education (USE) in the state. Read more

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