The government should take steps to ensure that Malayalam is compulsorily taught till fourth standard in all schools, poet Sugathakumari has said.
She was speaking after inaugurating the observance of the International Mother Language Day organised by the State Institute of Languages here on Wednesday.
“No other State ignores its mother tongue like the people of Kerala do. It is time we atoned for this wrong. In private schools and play schools, children are taught to speak in English, while Malayalam is ignored. Why cannot the government control these institutions, and ask them to teach Malayalam too? Let Malayalam be taught compulsorily in all schools till Class IV. The children should first have a proper grounding in their own language, before they study other languages,” she said.
She said that while the government is quick in implementing various projects, when it comes to the language, things slow down a lot.
“Even after getting classical language status, even after we all raised our voices many times, Malayalam is still not given the treatment it deserves. The Public Service Commission is yet to to make available its question papers in the Malayalam language, despite several promises. The pronouncements from the Courts delivered in English are indecipherable to the common people, whose fates hinge on those words,” she said.
The poet read out the official language oath in Malayalam penned by writer M.T.Vasudevan Nair.
Pledge taken
The pledge goes - “My language is my house. It is my sky. It is the star that catches my eye. It is the wind that gently touches me. It is the cold water that quenches my thirst. It is my mother’s caress and reprimand. My language is myself. Whichever place I land up in, I dream in my own language. My language is myself.”
