Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

Jahan, 2015). This also holds true for Iran where, despite the host of diverse ethnic
groups, the tendency has always been to strengthen the Persian language ‘as
the lingua franca’ (Fundamental Reform Document of Education, p. 18), chiefly
due to the lack of relevant information on ethnic groups. Minority languages
are acknowledged by the constitution but are not given a formal status, as
multilingualism is seen as a threat to national unity (see Riazi, 2005; Haddadian-
Moghaddam and Meylaerts, 2015). English does not feature in the Fundamental
Reform Document of Education, but there are provisions for foreign language
education so long as an ‘Islamic-Iranian identity’ is enforced (p. 32).
In Pakistan, language and identity issues, especially with reference to the
relationship between national and provincial languages, have loomed large
in education policy debates (Rahman, 2008). For other countries, the choice
medium of instruction at early primary level presents has often become a major
political question, with political movements forming around campaigns to secure
‘mother tongue‘ recognition for particular languages. Thus, language learning
has sometimes taken on a peculiar political instrumentality of its own — becoming
an arena for struggles to contest or assert particular narratives of identity and
related administrative arrangements (Box 5.5 shows how the role of language
in the second national movement in Bangladesh is related in textbooks). In
Tensions between the trend
towards the privatisation
or marketisation of
educational provision and
attainment of the goals
adumbrated in SDG 4.7 is
acute across the region,
and is epitomized by the
intensity of competition
to access English-medium
schooling
Sri Lanka, the reconciliation reached after
prolonged, violent strife between Sinhala and
Tamil (communities distinguished amongst
other things by language) forms an important
basis for the new educational policy.
To a considerable extent, the issue of English
as a medium of instruction, insofar as it also
involves issues related to the prevalence
of private schooling, impinges on the
‘challenges of competitiveness’ discussed
briefly in the following section. Tensions
between the trend towards the privatisation
or marketisation of educational provision and
attainment of the goals adumbrated in SDG 4.7 is acute across the region, and is
epitomized by the intensity of competition to access English-medium schooling.
Although English is now taught in government schools across South Asia from
the early grades, the quality of teaching is apparently poor, fuelling the demand
for private schooling. However, private schooling also implies, though not in
every case, the use of English as a medium of teaching, not merely its inclusion
in the list of subjects taught. The role that English plays in maintaining and
reproducing the class divide between the richer and poorer sections of society
is an issue on which policy is generally silent. This can be understood by recalling
that English-medium schooling is served by private finance. Across South Asia,
English-medium education has greatly expanded over recent decades. Preparing
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Chapter 5: South Asia