Revisiting history in language policy: The case of medium of instruction in Nepal

Type Working Paper - Working Papers in Educational Linguistics (WPEL)
Title Revisiting history in language policy: The case of medium of instruction in Nepal
Author(s)
Volume 28
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2013
Page numbers 61-80
URL http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=wpel
Abstract
This paper examines the history of language-in-education policy in Nepal. I begin with a brief overview of a
standard history of Nepali language planning and policy. This version of history describes an early period with
almost no schools, followed by the Nepali-only Panchayat period, and, after the 1990 restoration of
democracy, an openness toward multilingual schooling in policy. I augment this history to point toward a view
of history that is not split into static periods, does not impose current categories of ethnicity and language on a
past when such categories functioned differently, and that recognizes the importance of influences from
outside of Nepal’s national borders. Finally, I discuss the ways these differences inform an understanding of
the past and opportunities for considering the future of language policy.

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