EPPE Network
The Mother Tongue as an Optional School Subject in Mauritius: Impacts and Effectiveness
By Joseph Jean Noel Jolicoeur Although an estimated 34 million more children attend school following the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action, 40% of the global population still cannot access education in a language they speak or understand. This is the case for many students in Mauritius where English, the mother tongue of only 0.3% of the population, has been maintained as the medium of instruction since the British colonial era. Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, has sug