Kimmo Kosonen SIL International Payap University

Introduction What does education cost? What does multilingual education cost? What does mother tongue-based MLE cost? Is mother tongue-based MLE worth the cost?

Economic factors Economic factors National unity and political factors National unity and political factors Misunderstanding of language and education issues and multilingualism Misunderstanding of language and education issues and multilingualism General, technical and logistical challenges General, technical and logistical challenges Kosonen & Young, 2009: 16-17

Economic factors – the cost issue Economic factors – the cost issue National unity and political factors National unity and political factors Misunderstanding of language and education issues and multilingualism Misunderstanding of language and education issues and multilingualism General, technical and logistical challenges General, technical and logistical challenges Kosonen & Young, 2009: 16-17

Inefficiency and failure of many education systems Where does most of the national education budget go? To pay the teachers Does it matter – in terms of salary – what language the teacher speaks? Not really Thus, using multiple languages in a system does not dramatically increase the education budget

How much does it cost? To have a large number of learners repeating classes, being pushed out of school? To have a large number of learners leaving school semi-literate and with limited useful skills and knowledge? To have a large number of learners spending years without learning much – without learning things needed to lead productive lives? To have a large number of learners being failed by education systems, making these young people disillusioned?

“There are few studies on the costs and benefits of different education programmes, especially in Africa. Few, if any, studies demonstrate how much is spent on unsuccessful models of education provision in Africa.” Heugh, 2011: 259

Rationale for my research on costs and benefits of MLE In 2009, UNESCO Hanoi wanted – as part of a consultation on MLE in general – a review article on the cost issue of multilingual education Pusher Kadel from Language Development Centre, Nepal published my article later on as: Kosonen, Kimmo (2010) Cost-effectiveness of first language-based bilingual & multilingual education. In Pushker Kadel (ed.) Multilingual Education in Nepal (pp ). Kathmandu: Language Development Centre-Nepal.

Key findings “The added expenditure entailed by moving from a monolingual to a bilingual education system is much smaller than commonly believed. Where evaluations have been made, they point in the direction of a 3-4 percent range” (Grin, 2006: 88). A key conclusion: a fully multilingual system of education adds initially 3-5% percent to a country’s education budget. Grin, 2005, 2006; Patrinos & Velez, 1996, 2009

Key findings “A shift to bilingual schooling in Guatemala would result in considerable cost savings because of reduced repetition.” “The cost savings are equivalent to the cost of providing primary education to about 100,000 students per year.” Patrinos & Velez, 2009: 597

Policy implications Sufficient evidence exists to suggest that supporting good quality multilingual education in multilingual nations is a sound and wise policy choise – also economically. First language-based MLE of good quality – if properly supported and implemented – can save money in the medium and long term.

What do we know about cost and benefit of MLE programs? MLE of good quality – if properly supported and implemented – can save money in the medium and long term.

What do we don’t know? The exact costs and savings of MLE endeavors The exact long-term savings due to MLE How much does it actually cost (in each setting) to: develop orthographies; develop local languages for academic use; develop and publish textbooks and learning materials in more languages than before; develop teacher training systems in multiple languages; improve teaching of national or official language(s) as second languages.

Bridging the knowledge gap “There is a need to further investigate the costs and benefits of bilingual education, both through more in- depth country studies and by looking at more countries. In order to investigate the long-term effects of bilingual education one needs to conduct tracer studies of graduates of bilingual schools and compare to indigenous and nonindigenous children studying in traditional schools.” Patrinos & Velez, 2009:

Theoretical and methodological challenges In-depth country studies Comparisons between countries Longitudinal / tracer studies Long-term impact of MLE on learning outcomes Long-term impact of MLE on earnings

Final thoughts “Cost is meaningless in itself – it makes sense only in relation with what one gets in return for the cost incurred.” “[E]ven a high-cost policy can be perfectly reasonable on economic grounds, if the outcome is ‘worth it’; and paying for something which is worth paying for is a quintessentially sound economic decision.” Grin, 2005: 11, 13

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References: Grin, François (2005). The Economics of Language Policy Implementation: Identifying and Measuring Costs. In Neville Alexander (ed.) Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education in Southern Africa: the Dynamics of Implementation (pp ). Cape Town: PRAESA. Grin, François (2006). Economic Considerations in Language Policy. In Thomas Ricento (ed.). An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method (pp ). Oxford, Basil Blackwell. Heugh, Kathleen (2011). Cost implications of the provision of mother-tongue and strong bilingual models of education in Africa. In Adama Ouane and Christine Glanz (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 (pp ). Hamburg, Germany: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)/African Development Bank. Kosonen, Kimmo & Young, Catherine (Eds.) (2009). Mother tongue as bridge language of instruction: policies and experiences in Southeast Asia. Bangkok: Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Patrinos, Harry & Velez, Eduardo (1996). Costs and Benefits of Bilingual Education in Guatemala: A Partial Analysis. Human Capital Development Working Paper No. 74. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Patrinos, Harry & Velez, Eduardo (2009). Costs and benefits of bilingual education in Guatemala: A partial analysis. International Journal of Educational Development 29 (6), 594–598.