The Politics of Mother Tongue Education in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study uncovers controversies about the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in Ethiopia. It examines motives for the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction at the elementary level, and on which grounds the rights of minority linguistic groups to be instructed in their mother tongue are overlooked. To this effect, data were gathered from government language policy-related documents as well as 28 purposefully selected key informants through in-depth interviews. The data were analysed through a critical discourse analysis approach. Data showed that the government uses mother-tongue education for political motives and has the power to put its political interests into practice without conducting any societal needs assessments. On the other hand, the government lacks commitment to putting its language-use ideology into practice. It has used only some of the languages as mediums of instruction, with the result that many children of minority groups are not learning their daily lessons effectively. The study recommends that the government should confirm the right to learn through mother-tongue instruction at an elementary level to benefit children so that they can enjoy the opportunities of learning in their languages.