100,000 signatures are required for the UK Parliament to pay attention to Secure the future of Persian GCSE and A-level qualifications
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ZTFE President Malcolm Deboo writes…
It is with great disappointment that we have to inform you of the examining body OCR’s plans to discontinue Persian GCSE and Levels. As of 2018, the Persian GCSE and A-level qualifications are to be discontinued by Examinations Body, OCR. Yet “It’s only been a few days since UN sanctions against Iran were lifted but some firms have already announced plans to invest in the Iranian market. Some companies have spent months plotting their return to a country rich in natural resources, with a large educated population and spectacular scenery.” – Ben Morris, Business Reporter, BBC News January 2016. We believe that this is hugely short sighted and it cannot be allowed to happen. Disbanding of formal examinations would be a devastating mistake for our young people, our culture and our language.
However there remains room for hope. The Gujarati-speaking community, who have similar examinations entry figures and whose examinations were also disbanded by the OCR, have been able to successfully persuade Pearson Exam Board to offer Gujarati. We are in touch with the leaders from this campaign to learn from their experience. The greatest learning we can apply immediately is that we need to show more representation and campaigning from the community. As there is strength in numbers we have created this petition and urge all Persian / Farsi speaking communities, others interested in the Persian language and culture, plus those who believe that it is important for young people to have their mother tongue recognized, to come together to prevent this.
There are upwards of 400,000 Iranians currently living in the UK. We ask each and everyone of you to sign this petition, then share it with Iranian friends as well as future minded non-Iranians so we can encourage another examination body to take on Persian.
Sign and share with anyone you know.
We need 10,000 signatures to get Parliament’s attention and 100,000 to really make an impact. More so than ever, literacy in Persian, a live, modern and increasingly relevant language, offers a plethora of opportunity for the Iranian Community and the UK as a whole, let’s not let it slip through our fingers!
We need a minimum of 100,000 names and we need them quickly. The window for redevelopment via another examinations board is closing, a final decision will be made at the end of May.