Cost-benefits of Multilingual Education Economics of effective language models Kathleen Heugh University of South Australia November 2013

Which costs & benefits count? Use of Languages which teachers or learners do not know well Inputs: short, medium, long term Additional costs Use of Local Languages / MTs in Education Outputs: medium and long term Benefits, returns

Additional costs are usually much less than expected Projected costs for: The multilingual education policy in South Africa Expect between 5-10 % more on cost of books and teacher education (Vawda & Patrinos 1999) National Education: 0,11 % of National Budget over 3 years (Cole 2005) Provincial Departments: 0,3 - 0,6% over 5 years (Cole 2005) This is only 0,7% more for the whole S African education budget

1. Even if the initial cost is 5% more - this is likely to be recovered in 5-7 years (Grin 2005) 2.Savings: a.Lower repeater rate (short term) b.Lower drop-out rate (medium – long term) c.Initial cost decreases after 5-7 years Cost Recovery

Social and Development Impact: 1.Consequences of failure of health, education issues, & disgruntled youth; vs. 2.Consequences of successful education (e.g. Obanya 2004) Education Impact: 1.Higher through-rate for Primary Education = 2.Higher General Enrolment in Secondary Education Economic Impact: 1.Longer students in school = 2.Higher potential earnings= 3.Higher potential taxes to the state; etc. What is the cost of (not) investing in local languages?

Costing Language Models and Teacher Education Early-exit from MT medium Late-exit from MT medium Strong Bilingual MT + Additional Language/L2 100% teachers, Gr 4-12 Upgrade L2 proficiency 100% language (L2) teaching methodology 100% content subject pedagogy development CostValueCostValueCostValue HighLowMedium LowHigh 50% teachers, Gr 4-12 Upgrade L2 proficiency 75% teachers, Gr 4-12 Upgrade L2 proficiency 100% content subject pedagogy development 100% content subject pedagogy development 25% language L1/ MT & 75% language L2 teaching methodology 50% language L1/ MT & 50% language L2 teaching methodology

o (Introduction to) First and second language acquisition theory including how children become literate and effective readers and writers (applicable to planners across the curriculum) o Language education policy, models and outcomes o Bilingual / multilingual teaching principles & methodology o Introduction to the process of developing of terminology & orthography in local languages o Participatory (community involvement) approaches e.g. to education policy and planning o Education planning advocacy o Cost-benefit approaches of medium to long-term planning for educational success vs. short-term planning to protect careers Cost savings – increased efficiency of teacher education programmes, include:

Comparing Costs WHAT 1.Language in Education Policy 2.Plan 3.Public Support 4.Language Technology: terminology 5.Translation technology 6.Translation Units 7.Dictionaries 8.Multilingual materials 9.Teacher Training 10.TOTAL: Max. 1% SAME or MORE? 1.Same 2.Minimal 3.Same as any govt. policy 4.Inexpensive replicable, electronically accessible 5.Fast and Reduces costs 6.Employment & econ. Benefits 7.Overheads streamlined 8.Minimal additional costs 9.Lower costs 10.TOTAL: Recoverable and reduces overall expenditure

 Inputs : short, medium, long term  Outputs : medium and long term  Benefits : social, economic and development – medium to long term (Cole 2005) Finally :  No evidence that early-exit to the international language: works or is cheaper  There is evidence that L1/MT/Local Language education is cost- effective and beneficial for social development Conclusion

1.Cost budget implications of different options over 5-10 years [i.e. initial additional costs, recurrent costs, cost recovery, return on investment]. 2.Ensure that economists have necessary information regarding literacy and language development in education. 3.Develop a 10-point Language Education Plan for each country. 4.Adjust education budget & identify domestic and international sources for initial investment. 5.Involve civil society in the social, educational and economic costs and benefits of different models. 6.Engage in bilateral or multilateral co-operation with neighbouring countries. 7.Limit costs: maximise available expertise in the region and about local languages and literacy development. 8.Plan to recover costs and see benefits in 5-10 years. Recommendations

Cole, P The economics of language in education policy in South Africa. In Alexander, N (ed). Mother tongue-based bilingual education in Southern Africa. The dynamics of implementation, Cape Town: Multilingualism Network & PRAESA, University of Cape Town. Grin, F The economics of language policy implementation: identifying and measuring costs. In Alexander, N (ed). Mother tongue- based bilingual education in Southern Africa. The dynamics of implementation, Cape Town: Multilingualism Network & PRAESA, University of Cape Town. Heugh, K Cost implications of the provision of mother-tongue and strong bilingual models of education in Africa. In Ouane, A. and Glanz, C. (eds). Optimising learning, education and publishing in Africa: The language factor. A review and analysis of theory and practice in mother-tongue and bilingual education in sub-Saharan Africa, Hamburg and Tunis Belvédère: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)/African Development Bank. (Also in French) References