1) The document discusses the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction in schools. It notes that using one's native language facilitates better learning compared to a second language. 2) Examples are provided of the languages used for instruction in some of the top-ranked countries for literacy. Most use the primary local language, with some offering additional languages. 3) An overview is given of the languages used for instruction in different South Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. In Pakistan, the medium varies by province.

1. University of Sindh Jamshoro
Faculty of Education
Dr. Amjad Ali Arain
Presentation By:
Shah Bakhsh
Roll No. M/Edu/2K16/42

3. Definition
“Medium of instruction is the language that is
used in teaching. It may or may not be the
official language.”
Mother Language as Medium of Instruction
“Mother languages are essential to providing
quality education, which in turn supports the
achievement of the new global development
agenda.”
Irina Bokova (Director General UNESCO)

4. Philosophy of Mother Tongue as
Medium of instruction
• According to the experts the best
medium of instruction is the
mother tongue for the students.
Usage of the an other language
will affect their learning ability
and they will left behind from
those who are learning in their
mother tongue.

5. Cont…
• According to Prof Mujib of Jamia Millia
(Delhi), when a child is learning in a second
language he translate a world in 17 seconds
from foreign language to his mother tongue
and then retranslate to the foreign language
in other words when a student is talking to
his teacher it take him 34 second to translate
and retranslate. So imagine how much time
he is wasting instead of direct approach.

6. Medium of Instruction in top 10
literacy ranked countries
• In South Korea, Korean is used in most schools
(including Universities and Colleges).
• In Finland, Finnish is the language used in most
schools, but Swedish, also an official national
language, is used in a number of schools.
• In Greenland, Danish and Greenlandic are the
languages of instruction but more courses are
becoming available in English.
• In Latvia, 60% of all subjects are taught in Latvian
and 40% in a national minority language.

7. Contd…
• In Liechtenstein, West Greenlandic is used in
Greenland's schools, and is the sole medium of
instruction in primary schools. Germany and
English are used in Tertiary Education.
• In Estonia, as of 2011, there were 463 Estonian-
medium schools, 62 Russian-medium schools and
36 mixed medium schools, 25% of vocational
education being in Russian while the remainder
Estonian. In higher education, 90.2% is in
Estonian, 7.8% in Russian and 1.85% in English.

8. Contd…
• In Cuba, the colonial experience of Cuba makes Spanish
the most widely spoken language here. Spanish is official
language and medium of instruction in schools.
• In Azerbaijan, Azeri is the main language of instruction.
Instruction in Russian and to a lesser extent in English at
both secondary and post secondary level is also offered
in some educational institutions. Georgian is the
language of instruction in secondary schools in the
Georgian-populated northern regions.
• In Georgia, most schools conduct education in Georgian.
The number of Azerbaijani schools is being reduced.

9. Contd…
• THE TRILINGUAL EDUCATION
SYSTEM IN LUXEMBOURG
Medium of Instruction
• Nursery school
• only Letzeburgesch
• Primary school
• first years: Letzeburgesch
• transition to German by the end
of grade six
• German is taught as a subject in
the first year
• French is introduced at the end
of grade two
• Secondary schools
• for the first three years, most
classes (general and technical)
are taught in German
• French replaces German in the
fourth grade
• some classes are still taught in
German
• - complementary
• pupils have a less well–
developed knowledge of French

10. Medium of instruction in South Asian
Countries
• In India, the medium of instruction varies among
English, Hindi and the respective states’ official
languages. Private schools usually prefer English, and
public (primary/secondary education) schools tend
to go with one of the last two. However, the medium
of instruction in colleges and universities is always
either English or a regional language. Literacy rank :
185 , Literacy Rate: 62.8%
• In Sri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil and English are Medium
of instruction. Literacy rank : 129 , Literacy Rate:
91.2%

11. Contd…
• In Bangladesh, Bengali and English are used as
mediums of instruction. Literacy rank : 193 , Literacy
Rate: 57.7%
• In Maldives, English is medium of instruction in all but
the local language, Dhivehi, is also used extensively.
Literacy rank: 57 , Literacy Rate: 98.4%
• In Nepal, the medium of instruction in school was
made Nepali language after the restoration of
democracy in 1990. Literacy rank : 194 , Literacy Rate:
57.4%
• In Bhutan, English is medium of instruction, while the
National language is Dzongkha. Literacy rank : 200 ,
Literacy Rate: 52.8%

12. Contd…
• In Pakistan, most public schools use Urdu, but private schools have
English as medium of instruction. Literacy rank : 199 , Literacy Rate:
54.9%
43%
15%
14%
11%
8%
4%
5%
Languages spoken in Pakistan
Punjabi
Pashto
Sindhi
Siraiki
Urdu
Balochi
Others

13. • Punjab: Government of the Punjab ordered to teach Science
and Mathematics in English in each school vide Notification
No. PS/SSE/Misc/2009/176 dated 18-09-2009.
75.20%
17.40%
4.50% 1.20%0.70%
0.10%
0.90%
Languages spoken in Punjab
Punjabi
Siraiki
Urdu
Pashto
Balochi
Sindhi
others

14. 73%
18.13%
3.90%
1%1%
1%1% 0.70%
Languages spoken in KPK
Pashto
Hindko
Siraiki
Khowar
Kohistani
Urdu
Punjabi
others
KPK: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, led by Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf, has changed the medium of instruction in public
schools from Urdu to English from April 2014.

15. Sindh: In the rural areas of Sindh the medium of
instruction is Sindhi while Urdu in urban areas. English
is also medium of instruction in private schools.
60%
21.10%
7.00%
4%
2% 1%
5%
Languages spoken in Sindh
Sindhi
Urdu
Punjabi
Pashto
Balochi
Siraiki
Others

16. 54.80%
29.60%
13%
5.60%
2.50%
2.40%
1%
4.10%
Languages spoken in Balochistan
Balochi
Pashto
Brahvi
Sindhi
Punjabi
Siraiki
Urdu
Others

17. • Balochistan: in Balochistan the medium of
instruction is Urdu in public sector school and
English as medium of instruction in private
schools.
• Balochistan cabinet in January 2014 approved
the inclusion of regional languages in
educational curriculum of the province as a
first step towards promotion of indigenous
languages.
• The cabinet decided to include Balochi, Brahvi,
Pashto, Persian and Sindhi in educational
curriculum of the province.