The politics of mother tongue education: The case of Uganda

• Main Authors: Ssentanda, Medadi Erisa, Huddlestone, Kate, Southwood, Frenette
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: Stellenbosch University 2016-12-01
• Series: Per Linguam : A Journal of Language Learning
• Subjects: politics; mother tongue education; multilingualism; thematic curriculum; Uganda
• Online Access: http://perlinguam.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/689

This paper aims to explain the trend of mother tongue (MT) education in Uganda by examining particularly government’s practices towards MT education. MT education was (re)introduced in Uganda in 2006/2007 due to disappointing literacy acquisition by learners with the hope of improving literacy skills among particularly rural children. Based on data gathered from rural government and private schools in rural areas, this paper questions what exactly it is that government seeks to reclaim, restore and/or rejuvenate in Uganda’s education system via MT education.