Written question asked by Sarah Owen (Labour) on Friday, 23 February 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 27 February 2024. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Monday, 4 March 2024 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Development Aid: Education

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure more of the global population have access to education in their native language.

Answer: The UK prioritises foundational learning (literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills) for all children across our education programmes. This recognises that foundational learning is crucial to achieving higher order skills and reaping the full benefits of education. We are focused on delivering evidence-based interventions. A key part of the evidence on what works in literacy is ensuring that children learn in their mother tongue. We therefore advocate for the teaching of basic early education in children's native language. We encourage countries to delay the transition to another language of instruction to later in children's education once they have secured foundational learning.

Secondary information