Consolidating the colonial language policy
Neke,Stephen M.|Blommaert,Jan / 2002

This paper is a reading of the debate on the medium of instruction in post-primary education in Tanzania. The debate has proved to be an arena of conflicting and contentious ideas on language and education because the two become so intertwined such that at times the distinction between English and education is lost. As the title indicates, the language-in-education policy in present day Tanzania is a continuation of the colonial policy on language, and especially on language-in-education policy. The debate on medium of instruction is emblematic of the myriad problems that confront post-colonial states. It is also a public space that manifests discourses that try to account for the consequences of colonialism on the one hand, a confluence of ideas about the relationship between language and education, and language and development on the other.