Jowzjan Aina television
06/13/2005
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[Presenter] The methods and procedures for the teaching of Turkic languages - Uzbek and Turkmen - in Jowzjan Province schools were outlined at an advisory meeting today.

[Correspondent] A meeting was held in the hall of the Jowzjan Provincial Council of Jonbesh-e Melli Eslami-ye Afghanistan [National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan] on Saturday afternoon, 11 June. This meeting was attended by Uzbek and Turkmen education officials, teachers at institutes of higher education, education department managers, religious scholars, elders and prominent local figures.

A plan explaining the methods and procedures for teaching the Uzbek and Turkmen languages in the schools of this province was outlined.

To start with, the head of Jowzjan Province Education Department talked about the visit of an [Afghan] Education Ministry delegation to Jowzjan Province. The delegation stayed in this province for 25 days. They visited districts and all the schools of the province to sound out the ideas of students and their parents. He said that according to this delegation, 7,476 students speak Pashto; 26,058 students speak Dari; 50,005 students speak Uzbek and 18,161 students speak Turkmen in this province.

The issue which attracted the participants' attention was the absence of this three-man Education Ministry delegation, which came to the province to sound out ideas.

Azizollah Olfati, [the head of the Jowzjan Provincial Council of Jonbesh-e Melli Eslami-ye Afghanistan], read out the plans put forward by the meeting's participants.

[Olfati] Here are the plans put forward by education officials, prominent and spiritual figures, elders and the parents of students.

We, the participants of this meeting which is being held on 11 June, have set out the following items in two parts, which contain the responsibilities of the government and people's views on language learning.

The responsibilities of the government:

1. The government is responsible for taking practical steps to prepare the ground for improving the teaching of the Uzbek and Turkmen languages in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. The government should provide the Education Ministry with a budget which suffices to reassure the parents of students of the government's determination to teach students in their native languages [Indistinct sentences].

2. The government is responsible for launching campaigns to encourage students to learn their native languages. This process would reassure students and their parents of a guaranteed native-language teaching programme up to year 12 and the provision of ways for students to continue their higher education in their native languages.

3. The provision of staff to teach the Uzbek and Turkmen languages.

4. Holding short-term training seminars for teachers to teach students in their native languages.

The following items are based on people's views.

1. The students of years one, two and three should be taught in their native language. Moreover, these students should also be taught Dari to ensure they are familiar with it.

2. The Uzbek or Turkmen languages, which are spoken by a maximum number of students, should be taught from years three to 12.

[Correspondent] Afterwards, the participants signed up to this plan. According to the head of the Jowzjan Province Education Department, the Education Ministry has decided to launch a campaign to outline the methods and procedures for teaching the Uzbek and Turkmen languages in Jowzjan Province schools.

The Uzbek and Turkmen education officials claimed that the constitution confirms these languages as official languages of the country. Studying in a native language is legitimate, so the government should make provision for this.

BBC Monitoring