US MPs urge NYC to introduce South Asian languages in schools

Two top American lawmakers today exhorted New York City education department to create dual language programs in South Asian languages in its schools to reflect the rich diversity of the city that includes over 350,000 South Asian-Americans.
In a letter to New York city Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Congressman Joe Crowley called for South Asian languages to be included in the city's dual language programs, which are a form of education in which elementary school students are taught partially in English and partially in another language.
Presently, New York City public schools boast 182 dual language programs that include everything from Chinese and French to Haitian Creole and Russian.

But despite the large South Asian population in New York - which includes the Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani and other communities - there are no dual language programs in any South Asian languages, the lawmakers argued.
"The lack of South Asian languages in such diverse dual language programs is extremely surprising," said Meng.
"However, I believe Chancellor Farina will take our request seriously, and hopefully the New York City Department of Education will soon make South Asian languages part of these important language programs."

"It's vitally important that dual-language programs in our public schools reflect the rich diversity of our city - and that includes our growing South Asian communities," said Crowley.

"For new immigrant students these programs are vital to their success, and we need to ensure the South Asian languages are also being made available by the Department of Education," he added.
In the letter, the lawmakers argued that the South Asian- American community in NYC is ethnically and linguistically diverse with well over 351,000 South Asian-Americans living in NYC and over 60 per cent of that population located in Queens, NY.
"This community includes, but is not limited to: Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, and Indo- Caribbean Americans.
"The most common South Asian languages spoken in NYC are also the languages with the most Limited English Proficient (LEP) speakers," it said.