Mother tongue should be medium for education: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has opined that the medium for education in the educational institutions should be everyone’s mother tongue.

“I think that our medium for education should be the mother tongue. Besides, there should be scopes to learn other languages too,” she said.

The prime minister said this while addressing the opening ceremony of the four-day programme organised marking the Shaheed Dibosh and International Mother Language Day-2024 at International Mother Language Institute here on Wednesday (February 21).

Mentioning that mother tongue is the most important thing for education, the head of government said, “That is what I believe. If anyone gets education through mother tongue, receiving of that education, knowing that education, understanding that education would become much easier.”

She, however, said that in the workplace learning more than one language is also needed as all nations in the world are now very close to one another.

Laying emphasis on preserving, practicing and strengthening the mother tongue, the premier urged all to spread Bangla art and literature all over the world through proper translation.

“Our art and literature have to be spread all over the world through proper translation alongside preserving our mother tongue, practicing our mother tongue and strengthening our mother tongue,” she said.

She said, “It is the duty of all of us to highlight the fact that the Bangalee nation has sacrificed their life for its own language.”

Sheikh Hasina felt the necessity of translation, saying translation is absolutely necessary as “the more our art, literature and writings are translated in different languages in different countries of the world, the more the people of the world will know, understand and learn about Bangladesh and the Bangalee nation”.

She observed that the art and literature of different countries can be understood in Bangla language so easily which it is not possible in other languages.

So, the culture, literature or history of different countries of the world needs to be translated into Bangla to know those in a better way, she added.

The prime minister said that the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI) and Bangla Academy should work together.

“When we established this (IMLI) institute, we had in mind that if Bangla Academy and IMLI work together, we will know more and more art and literature.”

Sheikh Hasina said that it is the duty of every nation to preserve their mother tongue. “With that goal in mind, we have established the IMLI. The institute has been upgraded to category-II by UNESCO.”