In the last week of Parliament it was revealed that some Academic Qualifications Awarding Bodies were dropping Punjabi from their lists of examinationsubjects at GCSE and A Level. This is part of the Coalition Government’s reform of educational qualifications.

John McDonnell, who founded the All Party Punjabis in Britain Parliamentary Group, has launched a nationwide petition calling upon the incoming Government to act to ensure that Punjabi is maintained by the Qualifications Awarding bodies as a GCSE and A Level examination subject.

John said ” Learning the Punjabi language is critically importantto preservingPunjabi culture and alsohelps equip many of ouryoung people with the language skills they need in the modern world. Withdrawing Punjabi from the list of examinations taken at GCSEand A Level will undermine the teaching of this subject which is dear to the hearts of so many of our people. I am calling upon the incoming Government tointervene to ensure the preservation of Punjabi as a GCSE and A Level subject. I am asking people to sign our nationwide petition to support our campaign to save the teaching of the Punjabi language.”