Every year on February 21, International Mother Language Day -- also known as Matribhasha Dibosh -- is commemorated globally for fostering linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as multiculturalism.
About 43% of the world's 6,000 languages are endangered. A UN report says: "Only a few hundred languages have been given a legitimate position in education and greater culture, and significantly less than a hundred languages are being used in the virtual world."
In November 1999, Unesco declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day. In 2002, the United Nations General Assembly applauded the decision. On May 16, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on member states to "support the preservation and preservation of all dialects used by people around the world."
The General Assembly declared 2008 as the International Year of Languages in the same resolution, which aimed to "promote unity in diversity and intercultural cooperation."
According to a Unesco statement, early childhood care and education are the basis of learning, and education based on first language or mother tongue should begin in the early years. For any Bangladeshi, February 21 is an important day. Abdus Salam, Abul Barkat, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar, and Shafiur Rahman died for the recognition of Bangla language on this day in 1952.
People gave their lives for their mother tongue, which was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. That is why February 21 marks the anniversary of the day when Bangladeshi people fought for the recognition of Bengali as a language.
The theme of International Mother Language Day 2022 is "Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and Opportunities." In the framework of Covid-19, this year's International Mother Language Day will examine how technology may help promote multilingual education, and facilitate the development of high-quality teaching and learning for all students. This theme mainly refers to the role of teachers in promoting high-quality multilingual education and learning being promoted, and reflecting on the potential of technology to support multilingual teaching and learning.
This year's theme encourages how technology can be a resource. During this Covid-19 pandemic, several countries around the world used technology-based methods to learn during school closures.
A recent survey by Unesco, Unicef, the World Bank, and OECD on national school responses to Covid-19 school closures in 143 countries found that 96% of developed countries offered remote teaching through digital sites for at least one education, compared to just 58% of low-income countries. Most countries in the low-income context reported using broadcast media, such as TV (83%) and radio (85%), to facilitate continuing school.
Teachers lacked the necessary knowledge and skills to use distant learning effectively. Many learners lacked sufficient tools for open and distance learning, including internet access, available resources, personalized content, and human support. Furthermore, online teaching and learning methods, programs, and other materials may not necessarily reflect the diversity of languages.
If we talk about the context of Bangladeshi students, then since the beginning of Covid-19, education has been completely online, through which the students of this country have not had to be left behind. But online education is not for everyone. It has taken time, from teachers to students, to adapt to this online education system. Many poor students were deprived of this online education.
Bishal Basu is a freelance contributor.
