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Language, Education, and Public Policy in Eritrea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Tekle M. Woldemikael
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Abstract:

After an Eritrea nationalist movement gained Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia in 1991, the newly formed government introduced a national educational policy based on the use of mother languages as the medium of instruction in all public schools. The stated purpose of the policy was to foster national unity, identity, and development while respecting cultural diversity. Nine different languages are spoken in Eritrea, among a population that consists equally of Christians and Muslims. The government has shown considerable flexibility in applying its language policy, particularly in its response to resistance from some predominantly Muslim segments of the population. Yet the implementation of the educational policy shows that three languages—English, Arabic, and Tigrinya—have come to dominate the majority of schools in Eritrea. This article examines how the state carried out its language policy from 1991 to 1997 and explores the problems it confronted in implementing the policy.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Après qu'un mouvement nationaliste érythréen eut fait obtenir à l'Erythrée son indépendance de l'Ethiopie en 1991, le gouvernement nouvellement constitué introduisit une politique nationale d'éducation basée sur l'usage des langues maternelles comme moyen d'instruction dans toutes les écoles publiques. Le but avoué de cette politique était de stimuler l'unité, l'identité et le développement nationaux tout en respectant la diversité culturelle. Neuf langues différentes sont parlées en Erythrée parmi une population composée de Chrétiens et de musulmans en proportions égales. Le gouvernement a montré une souplesse considérable dans l'application de sa politique linguistique, en particulier dans sa réponse à la résistance de la part de certaines parties de la population à prédominance musulmane. Pourtant, la mise en application de cette politique scolaire montre que trois langues—l'anglais, l'arabe et le tigrinya—dominent maintenant dans la majorité des écoles en Erythrée. Cet article examine la façon dont l'état a mené sa politique linguistique de 1991 à 1997, et étudie les problèmes auxquels il s'est trouvé confronté lors de la mise en œuvre de cette politique.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 46 , Issue 1 , April 2003 , pp. 117 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2003

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