Farsi, taught as a second-language, in some British Columbia schools, may soon be a reality.

Also known as Persian, Farsi is the mother tongue of over 28,000 people in British Columbia, according to the most recent census.

Farsi Dar B.C. Campaign

“Having an opportunity for any new language [in schools], I think, is a great idea to have and, of course, there is a sizeable Persian-speaking population, especially in Metro Vancouver but all across B.C.,”  Amir Bajehkian, told CBC Vancouver in a radio interview last week.

Bajehkian is the founding member of the Farsi Dar B.C. Campaign, which officially launched yesterday with an event in West Vancouver.

Farsi Dar B.C. is the campaign led by founder Amir Bajehkian. (Clare Hennig/CBC)

Bajehkian is working with the provincial Ministry of Education and the school districts in what’s known as the Tri-Cities, which includes North Vancouver and West Vancouver, all areas with thriving Iranian communities.

When established, the new Farsi language program will be the tenth available to students.

French, being the other official language in Canada, is one of second-languages available in British Columbia schools. The others are: Italian, Spanish ,German, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Punjabi and American Sign Language.

“The demand has to come from either parents or teachers”

Bajehkian highlights the fact that more B. C. residents now consider Farsi as their mother tongue than three of the nine second-languages currently available, ahead of Japanese, Spanish and Italian.

“The demand has to come from either parents or teachers,” he said. “We want to start local and go province-wide.”

His group is in the process of gathering hard numbers on how many students would enrol in the potential Farsi program.

Taking a second-language course is mandatory in B.C. in Grades 5 to 8, when students are between the ages of 9 or 10 and 12 or 13 years of age, unless they qualify for an exemption.

The Ministry of Education is supportive of the move to have Farsi included as a second-language program option.

“The ministry encourages opportunities for all students to learn languages that are significant within their communities,” the ministry wrote in a statement.

“By exploring a new language, and its cultural context, students develop an understanding of diverse perspectives and can better appreciate the role of other cultures, as well as their own.”

Amir Bajehkian told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC Vancouver’s radio program, The Early edition, that Farsi, or Persian, is spoken by as many as 150 million people in the world.

It is the official language of Iran, and one of the official languages in both Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and was formerly used in India.

Along with the nine languages now part of the official provincial curriculum, some schools developed local language programs, teaching languages such as Arabic, Croatian, Russian and several Aboriginal languages, all are approved for credit.

(With files from CBC)