UNESCO Report on Multilingual Education Challenges and Recommendations

Key points :

Global Context:

1. Access to Education in Familiar Languages:

   • Nearly 40% of the global population lacks access to education in a language they speak or understand.
   • In low- and middle-income countries, this figure rises to 90%, affecting over a quarter of a billion learners.

2. Impact of Language Barriers:

   • Language barriers disproportionately affect education in linguistically diverse regions.
   • Over 31 million displaced youth globally face language-related challenges in education.

UNESCO Report: “Languages Matter: Global Guidance on Multilingual Education”

1. Key Recommendations:

   • Promote multilingual education policies and practices to benefit all learners.
   • Address implementation challenges, including teacher capacity, material availability, and community opposition.

2. Challenges Identified:

   • Historical factors (e.g., colonial imposition of languages creating educational disparities).
   • Limited resources for multilingual programs in linguistically diverse regions.
   • Modern migration increasing linguistic diversity in classrooms of richer nations, creating instructional challenges.

International Mother Language Day

• The report marks 25 years of efforts to preserve and promote mother tongues on International Mother Language Day.

India’s Context: NEP and Multilingual Education

1. National Education Policy (NEP):

   • Advocates multilingual education through a three-language policy in schools.
   • Faced opposition from some States over implementation.

2. Linguistic Diversity:

   • Increasingly global due to migration, making multilingual classrooms more common.
   • Challenges include balancing linguistic inclusion with instructional and assessment needs.

Call to Action

• UNESCO urges countries to prioritize mother-tongue-based education and strengthen multilingual systems to bridge educational disparities and foster inclusivity.