Ilimi Haske : The Effects of Schooling in Local Languages on Capabilities Expansion

This presentation explores the interplay between language, schooling, and learning in a postcolonial francophone educational system, assessing how learning in local languages in early years of schooling affects students' capabilities in Niger Republic. The Hausa saying "ilimi hasken rayuwa" directly links the ability to lead a dignified life out of obscurity to education. Education is development itself, without which no growth is possible. Yet schooling as a process that greatly affects value formation may also construct various forms of marginality. In many African countries, the early years of schooling mark a sharp disruption from the initial sites of learning. Children go into a school, many view as foreign, to learn new concepts in a foreign language (in this case French). The low adult literacy rate (19%) in Niger means that there is a rupture between what students learn in school and their ability to cement this learning in their own homes. The colonialist vision of enforcing a unique language unto a diverse people continues to pervade the education system in its form, content, and vision. It is however being challenged in 'experimental' schools. This paper argues that beyond conventional measures of quality, in postcolonial educational system, quality must encompass other intangible factors. If introducing mother-tongues could keep children in school longer with better outcomes, then it becomes a matter of social justice. But does it? What would social justice look like in a context where mastering French is a prerequisite for academic progress? What of agency when the desirability of local languages in 'formal' learning spaces remains low? Efforts in achieving Education for All (EFA) sometimes silence and overlook important perspectives. Parents and students may therefore disengage with "formal" education to assert their rejection not of the idea of education itself, but of an educational system with severe inequalities related to quality, access, and gender. This paper on the effects of local languages on learning outcomes is part of a larger research project that aims to uncover the determinants of secondary school completion