An Investigation into the Politics of English Language Assessment in Pakistan

Abstract

This research article attempts to address the politics of English language assessment in Pakistani context. The focus of this qualitative research study is to unfold ideological factors, socio-cultural factors, political factors, economic agendas, societal elements, issues of power, teachers’ roles, educational considerations, and hierarchical structures in Pakistani context with special reference to English language assessment system. Thematic Document analysis is used for analyzing the data collected from one of the leading newspapers in Pakistan i.e. Dawn. It is found out that the politics of language assessment is pluralized in Pakistan owing to decide which strata of the society is failing (the lower class) and which one is succeeding (the upper class, the elite class) in political power. This study also reveals that politics of language assessment in Pakistan is firmly linked with the purposes of English language learning i.e. lucrative jobs, education and business. Furthermore, the findings of the study highlight that in the current scenario of Pakistan, assessment and testing in general education and language assessment in particular play a significant role in imposing political policies and power in the arena of academia and intelligentsia. Likewise, the major findings of the study exhibit that there is a hegemony of English that brought linguistic imperialism in Pakistan. In Pakistani context, proficiency in English language decides future of the candidates in term of jobs and businesses. English language assessment regime is affected by the ‘top-down’ policy driven initiatives rather than ‘bottom-up’ collaborative work. It is the domain of a particular group of experts who decide Others as opposed to us. It also contributes to the marketization of English language in educational sector of Pakistan. The elite class in Pakistan set targets for the educational system in order to implement their policies to achieve political power and interests.