Taher Shir Mohammadi / Deutsche Welle Persian / September 23, 2008
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| Dr. Emilia Nercissians (left) and Dr. Sedigheh Adalati (right). |
The lack of instruction in the mother tongues of ethnic minorities in Iranian schools has made it challenging for children to familiarize themselves with the written and literary forms of their native languages. In Iran, the cultures and languages of ethnic minorities are often categorized as "subcultures," "local or indigenous languages," and "dialects."
Dr. Sedigheh Adalati, an Azerbaijani-Iranian sociologist and researcher based in Germany, argues that these definitions are incorrect and unscientific. She points out that the government has yet to adopt a fair policy toward these cultures and languages. Similarly, Dr. Emilia Nercissians, a researcher and head of the Anthropology Department at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, observes that the lack of mother tongue instruction has led to higher dropout rates in schools located in ethnic minority regions.
On the occasion of the new academic year in Iran and the challenges faced by children who aspire to learn in their mother tongues, Deutsche Welle Persian interviewed Dr. Sedigheh Adalati and Dr. Emilia Nercissians.
Challenges for Children Learning Their Mother Tongue
The first day of Mehr (September 22/23) marks the beginning of the school year in Iran, drawing attention once again to issues such as:
- High dropout rates in ethnic minority regions
- The absence of mother tongue instruction
- Psychological pressures faced by children
- The failure to implement Article 15 of the Constitution, which grants the right to education in one's mother tongue.
Dropout Rates in Ethnic Minority Regions
Experts from the Ministry of Education acknowledge that dropout rates and illiteracy levels are higher in regions where ethnic minorities reside than in Persian-speaking areas. Dr. Nercissians, an expert on bilingual children, notes that while Iran is a multicultural and multilingual country, the imposition of monolingualism has created significant educational challenges for non-Persian-speaking children. These children, who speak their mother tongue at home, are required to learn and be educated in a different language at school.
Dr. Nercissians adds that this issue is particularly acute for elementary school students who face "language shock" upon entering the classroom. The Ministry of Education has trained specialists to help mitigate this shock in regions with ethnic minority populations.
Government Measures to Address Dropout Rates
Dr. Nercissians explains the government's efforts to combat dropout rates in ethnic regions:
“Research conducted by universities and the Ministries of Education and Science has shown that most bilingual provinces experience higher dropout rates. The government is not indifferent to this issue. One approach has been to enroll bilingual children in school three months early to familiarize them with the Persian language. Another initiative involves training educators to work in bilingual environments. This is a specialized master’s program run by the Ministry of Education. Teachers are trained to understand the challenges of bilingual students and to foster a reciprocal relationship by learning another language themselves, enabling them to provide better services.”
Dr. Nercissians also highlights the limited budget for education, which hinders investments in the development and promotion of other languages spoken in Iran.
Psychological and Emotional Challenges for Children
Psychologists identify psychological and emotional challenges as one of the main causes of higher dropout rates in ethnic minority regions. Dr. Adalati explains:
“In provinces where education is not conducted in the students’ mother tongue, dropout rates, illiteracy levels, and the number of failing students are high. Children lose their self-confidence when they realize that the language of instruction is unfamiliar to them. They view this as their personal deficiency.”
A Solution: Changing Language Policies
Some linguists and sociologists criticize the government for failing to establish departments for ethnic and national languages in Iranian universities. They accuse the government of pursuing policies aimed at erasing ethnic languages and cultures.
For years, activists have collected petitions and held various events to draw public and governmental attention to the need for mother tongue education. They argue that current government policies for addressing the challenges faced by Kurdish, Balochi, Turkmen, and Turkish children, among others, are insufficient.
Dr. Adalati supports these views and suggests that the government must change its overall approach to the country’s linguistic and cultural diversity:
“The first step the government must take is to implement Article 15 of the Constitution. Not only has the government failed to act systematically and officially on this matter, but it has also attempted to suppress independent initiatives by non-Persian intellectuals. This demonstrates that the government views language as a political and security issue. As long as this perspective persists, Article 15 will never be implemented.”
Budget Constraints for Mother Tongue Education
Many experts believe that attitudes toward ethnic languages and cultures have improved in recent years. Dr. Nercissians acknowledges this progress but points to the limited budget of the Ministry of Education, which focuses primarily on Persian:
“For Armenian, there are programs at the university level. Kurdish studies have reportedly been introduced as well. While these programs are not comprehensive, at least there is some attention being paid to bilingualism. However, no similar efforts have been made for languages like Turkmen or Balochi.”
Dr. Adalati, however, dismisses budget constraints as an excuse. She highlights the disparity in government spending:
“The Iranian government has published hundreds of thousands of free textbooks for Tajikistan, a Persian-speaking country, while allocating minimal resources to the development of ethnic minority languages in Iran.”
Implementing Mother Tongue Education
Article 15 of the Iranian Constitution recognizes the right of ethnic minorities to mother tongue education. It states:
“The use of local and ethnic languages in the press and media and the teaching of their literature in schools is allowed alongside Persian.”
While this right is legally recognized, it has yet to be implemented. Dr. Nercissians notes some positive developments:
“We have a law that does not prohibit this. Additionally, there has been a shift in perspective within educational institutions. Conferences on bilingualism and academic articles have started to address the issue. These are signs of progress.”
Dr. Adalati, however, remains pessimistic:
“Even after 30 years of the Islamic Republic, no meaningful action has been taken. As long as the government views non-Persian languages as a threat, considering them a political and security issue, we cannot be optimistic.”
Multilingualism as an Advantage
Both Dr. Adalati and Dr. Nercissians emphasize that multilingualism is a norm in today’s world. Dr. Nercissians shares her aspiration:
“I envy those born in places like Urmia who, due to geographical conditions, can learn another language. Today, speaking multiple languages is an asset and a dream for many.”
Despite decades of promises, learning in their mother tongue remains an unattainable dream for many children in Iran.
The link to the original article in Farsi on Deutsche Welle Persian:
آغاز سال تحصیلی و آرزوی تحصیل به زبان مادری