The Mon National Education Committee (MNEC) announced on February 21st — International Mother Language Day, their on-going commitment to develop and strengthen Mother Tongue Based – Multilingual Education systems, also known as MTB-MLE.
The MNEC indicated they would work with international organizations, including diverse ethnic education departments, to develop and strengthen MTB-MLE policies that produce a high-quality ethnic school education system.
International research conducted by MNEC, found that MTB-MLE systems help ethnic children learn self-confidence, cooperation, and the value of peace. In addition such systems provide a strong foundation to learn other languages.
The Mon National Education Center, which was launched in 1972 under the New Mon State Party has been a strong proponent of MTB-MLE educational practices. Since the year 2000, curriculum content, textbooks and teacher’s guides have been innovatively designed to use the Mon language to teach subjects in elementary, middle and high school level classes.
MNEC is continuously working to develop greater awareness of the language, literature, history and traditional culture of the Mon people. In 2023, the Mon National College was established.
There are more than 130 schools in Mon State, Karen State and Tanintharyi Division, with more than 700 teachers and more than 15,000 students, according to statistics from the Mon National Education Committee.
