Renowned Journalist-Filmmaker R. Paul Dhillon Has Also Made A Great Contribution To Punjabi Language With His Recent Documentary For The Love Of My Mother Tongue!

Surrey School District is willing to consider offering Punjabi in grade five in September, 2016 in ten schools if there is enough interest. These elementary schools are: Cedar Hills, Chimney Hill, Creekside, Dr. F.D. Sinclair, Georges Vanier, Henry Bose, M.B. Sanford, Senator Reid, T.E. Scott, and W.E. Kinvig. Survey forms in English and Punjabi have been sent home with grade 4 students in these schools. Parents of these students are urged to fill them in and return them to school of their child before May 26.

By Balwant Sanghera

                               Punjabi language has now become one of the prominent languages not only in Canada but also in a number of other countries. Its status as the third most spoken language in this country has given Punjabi a fairly high profile. A number of recent developments at the local, provincial and national levels have been very positive in this regard.

Take for example, prominent journalist, Link editor and famous filmmaker R. Paul Dhillon’s documentary: For the Love My Mother Tongue. This amazing documentary was an excellent and well deserved tribute to Punjabi language. The way this film dealt with various aspects of Punjabi and its evolution was very heart warming. On behalf of Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA) I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Dhillon for making a commendable contribution to Punjabi language. 

                                Punjabi Language Education Association (PLEA) has been working very hard for more than 22 years in promoting Punjabi in BC’s public schools, post-secondary institutions and at various other levels. As a result of these efforts, Punjabi classes are under way in a number of schools, colleges and universities. For example, in Surrey, which is considered to be the centre of the Punjabi community, Punjabi classes are under way in six secondary and three elementary schools. Similarly, Punjabi classes have been going on in many other communities. As a result of PLEA, Indo-Canadian media and community efforts there is a lot of awareness about the benefits of learning Punjabi. As a matter of fact, Punjabi has now become the language of employment in many communities.

 For quite some time, PLEA has been working with the Surrey school officials to offer Punjabi in neighbourhood elementary schools wherever there is need. In this regard, a recent development is very encouraging. To its credit, Surrey School District is willing to consider offering Punjabi in grade five in September, 2016 in ten schools if there is enough interest. These elementary schools are: Cedar Hills, Chimney Hill, Creekside, Dr. F.D. Sinclair, Georges Vanier, Henry Bose, M.B. Sanford, Senator Reid, T.E. Scott, and W.E. Kinvig. Survey forms in English and Punjabi have been sent home with grade 4 students in these schools. Parents of these students are urged to fill them in and return them to school of their child before May 26.

                                The survey forms are very simple and should take only couple of minutes to complete. It asks the question if the parents would like their child to take Punjabi in grade 5 in September. Usually, the school requires at least 25 students in order to offer a class in Punjabi. If there is enough interest then the school will have to find classroom space in the school as well as a suitable teacher to teach Punjabi. Finally, the school will need Board approval in order to commence a class in Punjabi in September. So filling the form and returning it to school is the first and the most important step in this process. On behalf of PLEA I would like to urge parents of grade four students in these ten schools to say yes, return the form to school as soon as possible and encourage the school officials to offer Punjabi classes in September ,2016.

Balwant Sanghera is the President, Punjabi Language Education Association