Iranian education minister: 70 percent of Iranian students are bilingual?

Question

http://bugun.blogsky.com/1389/08/11/post-16/
Fars news agency: education minister said: 70 percent of students throughout country are bilingual and their mother language doesn't convert to Persian after entering to first year of school and passing one year. How can such students compete with students those educate in Tehran? Haj-babayi, education minister, states: the students those faced this decline of education, couldn’t always succeed.
Just a year ago (on December 15, 2009) the Iranian minister of education, Mr. Hamidreza Haji-Babayi, revealed that 70% of Iranian students are bilingual. What this means is that Farsi/Persian is the natural mother tongue to only 30% of Iranian students. In other words, 70% of Iranian's population is non-Persian and they are forced to start their education with non-mother language. Despite this fact, the Iranian government along with the majority of Persian intellectuals, scholars and even opposition activists continue to disregard the country's rich ethnic and linguistic diversity. Iran has one of the widest varieties of ethnic groups in the world, and none of ethnic groups form the vast majority of the population but since 1925, Persian governors deny being of non-Persian peoples and they have executed many injustice plans for what they called the unifying of Iran. These plans included denying of non-Persian ethnic groups, banning of use of non-Persian languages, insulting to non-Persian cultures, changing of non-Persian geographical names to Persian, disintegrating of historical autonomous autonomy states, for example historical Azerbaijan has disintegrated to several provinces, and other assimilating plans.
Azerbaijani Turks along with Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, Turkmens, Gilaks, Mazandaranis, Lors and other small minorities constitute this 70 percent of population of Iran. None of those ethnic groups are allowed learning their languages. Azerbaijani Turks and Persians are almost equals in population number but Iranian tyrannous system has banned such primary rights of non-Persian peoples and unfortunately, attitude of opposition groups of Iranian government about this unfair education system is very undemocratic, as Islamic government's is. Azerbaijani activists, as Supporters of bilingual instruction, believe that students should gain confidence in using their native language before being introduced to the Persian curriculum.
Bilingual education, application of specialized educational techniques to enhance the learning opportunities of students whose native language differs from the predominant language of instruction, is popular system that non-Persian activists want to be implemented in Iran. Defenders of education of mother language believe that competency in one’s native language provides important cognitive and social foundations for second language learning and academic learning in general.

Answer 1

Iran's national language is Persian. That means everyone must not only learn it to communicate with each other, but use it in schools. And I don't really understand why bilingual students can't compete with others? Can't they learn Persian? Are they mentally disabled or genetically dumb? I mean when I came to the US I learned English in 6 months, how can't Azeri bilingual students learn Persian?

If this was published on Fars then why didn't you give a direct link to Fars instead of some stupid blog?



@bugun: Are you joking? Dari is just a dialect of Persian language, and it's mainly used in Afghanistan. Of Iran's 70 million population almost 51% speak Persian not 30%. Get your facts right.

BTW, kids learn a second language faster than adults, but that's not the point.



"I want to question you that who is mentally disabled? You or Azerbaijani kids are genetically dumb?"

Seemingly Azeri kids qualify, because according to you, they can't learn a second language.



"You Persian people, because of dictatorial personality"

Well that clearly shows your sick racist personality. Let's not forget that Iran's leader, khamenei, who is in charge of everything, is an Azeri.



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Bugun

Yasser

as

Atilla



They all joined Yahoo to answer this question?!

HAVING MORE THAN ONE ACCOUNT IS AGAINST Y!A RULES.

Answer 2

I don't see why the students cannot learn Farsi successfully although I do agree that banning the use of mother tongues is wrong.



Here where I live a large section of the ex Persian community speak a polyglot language- Ajami, go to school and lean in Arabic as well as learning English at school and they seem to have no problems.



They are usually the top achievers at school in fact.



Schools in America do not teach in languages other than English although a huge raft of the population's mother tongue is Mexican Spanish and European languages.



Equally I do not see government schools in the Brick Lane district of London or Bradford for example teaching in Bengali/ Urdu/Hindi.



Addittion: I was not aware that Iran was made up of disparate

nations. I thought it was, to use the old word, all Persia. Howecver, I still think my point stands on merit.

Answer 3

thank you for this important question that is disregarded in Iran and unfortunately Iranian government and even Iranian opposition groups, as claimants of democracy (green movement), deny these nations and their rights.

As an Azerbaijani Turk, I hope,once, world hears voice of Iran's ethnic groups.

I experienced this problem about non-mother language, Persian, too.

Answer 4

persian:

Iran's haven’t national language and Persian is language of Dari people that consist of 30% of Iran's population. Persian is an occupier and killer official language that is compelled to 70% of population of Iran.

You Persian people, because of dictatorial personality, cannot understand non-Persian problems with non-mother language. You, probably adult, claim to learn English in 6 months and you compare yourself with 6 years old kids of Azerbaijan who speak Turkish until six-year-old and abruptly face with unfamiliar language.



I want to question you that who is mentally disabled? You or Azerbaijani kids are genetically dumb?

.....................................

And dear Christine

The non- Persian nations and ethnics of Iran are migrant or refugee that you compare them with Bengalis and Hindis of Britannia. They are distinct nations that are tyrannized by Persian dictatorship.

Answer 5

I have experienced this problem with unfamiliar language, Persian, and I think the worst years of my live was primary school

Answer 6

dear Yashar, thank you for this critical question.

as it is emphasized in your writing, unfortunately Persian people(of side or out of Iran) along with Islamic government and green movement all deny existence of non-Persian nations and ethnics. FARS news agency had reported this news, but after some days they deleted that part of report which related to problem of bilingual students in Iran. but some agencies keep report:this link



http://www.edunews.ir/index.php?view&sid=23573



وزير آموزش و پرورش افزود: صبح امروز در جلسه شوراي عالي آموزش و پرورش با حضور رئيس جمهور تبديل آموزش و پرورش كشور به دو دوره 6 ساله ابتدايي و 6 ساله دوم و حذف دوره راهنمايي از نظام آموزشي به تصويب رسيد؛ توجه به مناطق محروم و چند زبانه براي ايجاد عدالت آموزشي نيز يكي ديگر از مصوبات امروز شوراي عالي آموزش و پرورش بود.

وي ادامه داد: 70 درصد دانش‌آموزان در سراسر كشور دو زبانه بوده و پس از ورود به كلاس اول و گذراندن يك سال تحصيلي هنوز زبان مادري آنها به فارسي تبديل نشده است؛ اين گونه دانش‌آموزان چگونه مي‌توانند با دانش‌آموزاني كه در تهران تحصيل مي‌كنند رقابت كنند.

حاجي‌بابايي اظهار داشت: دانش‌آموزي كه در كلاس اول با اين افت تحصيلي مواجه شود تا آخر نيز نمي‌تواند موفق باشد.

you Persian people like your Islamic government are tyrant but the world will hear voice of non-Persian nations and also the world will know authoritarian Persians.