Parkari MT-First MLE Program, Sindh Province, Pakistan Information from Poonam Paschal, Director, Parkari Community Development Program

Language situation in Sindh Province Sindhi is the medium of instruction in schools in Sindh. Sindhi is the medium of instruction in schools in Sindh. English is taught as a subject in schools English is taught as a subject in schools The Sindh provincial government allowed the Parkari community to use Parkari for instruction in school, as long students also learn Sindhi, English and Urdu and achieve state learning competencies for primary school. The Sindh provincial government allowed the Parkari community to use Parkari for instruction in school, as long students also learn Sindhi, English and Urdu and achieve state learning competencies for primary school.

Main features of the Parkari MT-First MLE Pilot Project

First two years of education in the students’ home language help them build confidence in themselves as learners

Sindhi, English and Urdu are introduced as subjects in Primary School, as required by national standards

Two-Track Method for teaching literacy emphasizes meaning as well as accuracy

Math introduced in KG. Concepts are introduced in the MT, then taught in Sindhi and reviewed in MT

Child-centered approaches build students’ confidence Children’s own stories, in their MT and later in Sindhi Each week the teacher sits with each child as they read—a chance to do informal testing of reading ability. Meanwhile, other students read silently

Teachers come from the students’ own communities. They understand and respect the local culture Girls are respected and encouraged by teachers from their own community

Graded story books help students gain fluency and confidence in reading Classroom library has books in MT and in Sindhi L1 reading books

Schools follow the state curriculum starting in Grade 1, but continue using Parkari, with Sindh, in the classroom Children using Sindhi math book

Result as of 2007: Children in the Parkari MLE program outperformed Sindhi-speaking children in [internal] Math and Sindhi-language tests at the end of Year 2.