Advocating for Multilingual Education to Bridge Urban-Rural Divide, Boost Literacy

At the 2024 commemoration of International Literacy Day by QEDA recently, experts in the education sector called for attitude change to promote and embrace multilingual education by enhancing teachers’ capacity to effectively implement language policies, as well as addressing the issue of identity and the gap between the urban and rural areas and the issue of low literacy. Funmi Ogundare and Kuni Tyessi report

Quality Education Development Associates (QEDA) recently joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 2024 International Literacy Day, set aside every September 8 to highlight the importance and value of literary education for individuals and groups and provide benefits for the wider global culture. With the theme, ‘Youths as Vanguard for Multilingual Education to Achieve Peace and Mutual Understanding’, the organisation brought together stakeholders drawn from the media, influential voices on social media, teachers, policymakers, and youth advocates for a round table discussion.

To promote equitable access to quality education and improve learning outcomes, the discussion centred around the following: What is multilingual education? Multilingual education: Where are we and where do we want to be? Role of Youths and Media in promoting Multilingual Education for peace and Mutual understanding. The stakeholders called for a change in attitudes to promote and embrace multilingual education by enhancing teachers’ capacity to implement language policies effectively. They emphasised that teacher education should focus on developing competence in multilingual pedagogy, creating educational resources such as textbooks and teaching materials, and integrating technology by developing a language app.

They also called for research to generate evidence-based, locally-driven solutions catering to all learners. They explained that these efforts would help children become bilingual, improving their reading skills and career prospects. Earlier in his remarks, QEDA Team Lead and Founder Mr. Nurudeen Lawal, who has been promoting literacy for 25 years, emphasized that Africa’s solutions to its challenges lie within the continent.

Prof. Talatu Musa Garba, an expert in language education, highlighted that Africa’s future depends on its youth, and to make them advocates for education, their interest in multilingual learning must be fostered.

“Youths should take ownership of their education and advocate for policies prioritising multilingual learning environments,” she said.

Garba, who chaired the event, added, “It is important for Nigeria to explore different models of multilingual education.”

The guest speaker and executive chairman of the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board, Mrs. Lydia Onuoha, emphasised the theme’s significance, noting that multilingual education fosters understanding across diverse cultures.

“Supporting multilingual education helps bridge divides between groups, promoting peace and unity. This year’s theme is timely for Nigeria as it will enhance access to education while preserving cultural diversity,” she stated.

Onuoha also stressed that literacy is crucial for human and social development, gender equality, and societal survival. She advocated for improving children’s learning outcomes by starting with familiar languages and integrating technology.

She stated that out of 52 African countries, Nigeria ranks number 35 in literacy level, just as over four million teachers are needed globally to tackle the issue of acute teacher shortage. So far, the chairman noted that it has been discovered that 4.7 million Nigerian children speak pidgin as their first language. She said while the Nigerian educational curriculum favours multilingual language, the challenges, which include survival instinct, rural and urban influence, and socioeconomic vibes, must be addressed.

Reiterating that there are policies surrounding multilingual education, but with poor policy implementation, better terms are needed to describe indigenous languages and help children transition from indigenous languages to English.

She stated, “Nigeria ranks number 35 in Africa regarding literacy level. There is also the issue of teacher shortage. I thought it was just in Nigeria until I saw the paper from the last UN Assembly, where it was stated that it is a global problem. The world right now needs four million teachers to tackle the issue of teacher shortage.

“We have to address the issue of identity as well as the gap between the urban and rural divide and the issue of low literacy. The very big problem in Nigeria right now is the issue of disunity, insecurity and people so divided along several lines, and a good instrument to promote peace right now is our diversity in all the over 500 languages in Nigeria.”

Onuoha added, “We must address all the issues in order for us to change our narratives. There’s also the issue of rural and urban influence, as well as socioeconomic vibes, coming to bear on where they are. So another language other than their indigenous languages overshadows their mother tongue, but again, for economic reasons, the survival instinct plays more role here.”

Similarly, the founder of the African Back2 Basics Edu Initiative, Dr. Olusoji Adeniyi, explained that a national dialogue needs to be held on language policy, noting that with this in place, it becomes imperative to standardise local languages, bearing in mind the power of language over the people.

He stated that the issue of inter-ethnic and multiracial languages has further added to the challenges on the ground. The dialogue that must be kept going will serve as enlightenment to language experts and teachers, a relief in sight.

“The society needs to stratify the implementation. The challenge with the urban setting is that we are so urbanised that a lot of transformation will need to happen,” said Adeniyi. “Now we have multiracial language and with this, children are not getting the recommended access needed to the language of either parent. They are not sure whose language to speak and the situation becomes worse when both parents cannot even communicate in their respective mother tongues.”