Canada Education is a provincial matter under the
Canadian constitution, section 92. French language rights have been guaranteed in the province of Quebec since the
Treaty of Paris 1763, French outside of Quebec and all other minority languages have faced laws against them at one time or another. English-only education laws were gradually rolled out across Canada during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, culminating in the
Manitoba Schools Question in 1896 and
Regulation 17 in Ontario in 1912, which both targeted French and other European minority languages, and the
Indian residential schools system which attacked Aboriginal languages. These policies were gradually abolished in the wake of Canada's adoption of official bilingualism (French/English) in 1969 and multiculturalism in 1971, but English remains the predominant language of education outside of Quebec and New Brunswick.
Wales In
medieval Wales, Welsh schools used
Latin as the medium of instruction due to their close relationship with the
Catholic Church, though by the 15th century Wales' social elite increasingly viewed learning English as an important step in their education. Wales was incorporated into the
Kingdom of England as a result of the
English Parliament's
Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542; the acts also established English as the official language of administration and justice in Wales, along with creating a
more developed system of local government. This resulted in several grammar schools being established in the 16th and 17th centuries to cater to this demand, all of which taught in English or Latin with students being expected to have learnt adequate English before starting; several grammar schools forbade the use of Welsh in instruction. In the early 1670s, the English clergyman
Thomas Gouge began preaching in Wales, and by 1675 he had established 87 schools which were attended by a total of 2,225 students. The schools, which used English as the medium of instruction, were intended "to teach the poor Welsh children to read and write English, cast Accompts [numeracy] and repeat the
Catechism". However, these schools closed after Gouge died in 1681. In the early 18th century, several charity schools were established with the support of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK). By 1714, nearly 100 SPCK schools had been founded in Wales. In the 1730s, the Welsh clergyman
Griffith Jones began establishing several "circular schools" in Wales, which aimed to cater to students of all ages. While circular schools used Welsh only, charity schools utilised a mixture of Welsh and English as a medium of instruction; the typical medium of instruction in the SPCK schools was English but speaking Welsh in the schools was not restricted and over 12 schools in
North Wales were conducted in Welsh. As noted by the academic Russell Grigg, English was used where it was the local preference. Endowments for 18th-century elementary schools in Wales sometimes specified Welsh or English as the language to be used, but this did not always reflect the reality of how lessons were conducted. The Sunday schools established in Wales in the late 18th century were conducted in Welsh. During the 19th century, there was an increasing push for English-medium education in Welsh schools. Welsh parents were keen for their children to learn English; knowing the language was felt to be a route to social mobility, made life more convenient and was a status symbol. The upper- and middle-classes in Wales, who generally spoke English, were also eager for the masses to learn the language, believing it would contribute to Wales's economic development and that Anglophone tenants or employees would be easier to manage. Day schools in Wales, which had often been created by voluntary societies in the early 19th century, used English as the sole medium of instruction. The
Welsh Not was a form of discipline used at some English-medium Welsh schools. The details of the practice varied; in general, children would be given an object when they were caught speaking Welsh and pass it on if they heard another child speaking the language. The child holding the object at the end of the day would be punished. In 2025,
Gwynedd Council, the county council of
Gwynedd, announced it would be phasing out English-medium education as the main language in the county's state schools.
Ireland The poet
Edmund Spenser wrote in (1596) a recommendation that "the Irish ... be educated in English, in grammar and in science ... for learning hath that wonderful power of itself that it can soften and temper the most stern and savage nature." The setting up of 'Royal Schools' in Ireland, was proclaimed in 1608 by
James I, with the intended purpose "that there shall be one Free School at least appointed in every County, for the education of youth in learning and religion." These schools provided an English-medium education to the sons of landed settlers in Ireland, most of whom were of Scottish or English descent. However, only five such schools were actually set up;
The Royal School, Armagh in County Armagh,
Portora Royal School in County Fermanagh, The Cavan Royal School in County Cavan, The
Royal School Dungannon in Tyrone and The Royal and Prior School in County Donegal. The
National Education System (sic) was founded in 1831, by the British Government, under the direction of the Chief Secretary, E.G. Stanley. Some 2,500 national schools were established in Ulster in the period 1832–1870, built with the aid of the Commissioners of National Education and local trustees. S. Ó Buachalla states: During the first four decades of their existence, there is no mention of the Irish language in the programme of regulations of the Commissioners of National Education; furthermore no provision whatsoever was made in 1831 when the original scheme was drawn up for education of those children who spoke Irish only. According to the official opinion of later Commissioners, expressed in a formal reply to the Chief Secretary in 1884, " the anxiety of the promoters of the National Scheme was to encourage the cultivation of the English language. The Irish patriot
P.H. Pearse published a series of studies of the English-medium education system in Ireland. His article entitled The Murder Machine embodies an article which appeared in the Irish Review for February 1913. Pearse wrote in his pamphlet the following: And English education in Ireland has seemed: to some like the bed of
Procustes, the bed on which all men that passed that way must lie, be it never so big for them, be it never so small for them: the traveller for whom it was too large had his limbs stretched until he filled it; the traveller for whom it was too small had his limbs chopped off until he fitted into it—comfortably. It was a grim jest to play upon travellers. The English have done it to Irish children not by way of jest, but with a purpose. Our English-Irish systems took, and take, absolutely no cognisance of the differences between individuals, of the differences between localities, of the: differences between urban and rural communities, of the differences springing from a different ancestry, Gaelic or Anglo-Saxon.
Scotland In medieval and early modern Scotland, several attempts were made by Scottish authorities to establish English at first among the
Scottish aristocracy and increasingly amongst all ranks by education acts and parish schools. The
Parliament of Scotland passed ten such acts between 1494 and 1698. In 1609, the Scottish government implemented the
Statutes of Iona, which required Highland clan chiefs to send their heirs to the Lowlands to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. Among the items listed in the statues was the "planting of the gospell among these rude, barbarous, and uncivill people" by Protestant churches; the outlawing of bards who were traditionally on circuit between the houses of Highland nobility; the requirement that all men of wealth send their heirs to be educated in Lowland schools where they would be taught to "speik, reid, and wryte Inglische." The then King
James VI of Scotland, followed this by the
School Establishment Act 1616, which sought to establish schools in every parish in the
Scottish Highlands so that "the youth be exercised and trayned up in civilitie, godlines, knawledge, and learning, that the vulgar Inglische toung be universallie plantit, and the Irische language, whilk is one of the chief and principall causes of the continewance of barbaritie and incivilitie amongis the inhabitantis of the Ilis and Heylandis, may be abolisheit and removeit." In 1709 the
Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was established in order to further funding sources for Highland church schools. All manner of incentives and punishments were used to stop children from speaking
Scottish Gaelic. The SSPCK had five schools by 1711, 25 by 1715, 176 by 1758 and 189 by 1808, by then with 13,000 pupils attending. At first the SSPCK avoided using the Gaelic language with the result that pupils ended up learning by rote without understanding what they were reading. In 1741 the SSPCK introduced a Gaelic-English vocabulary, then in 1766 brought in a
New Testament with facing pages of Gaelic and English texts for both languages to be read alongside one another, with more success. After a number of years of unsuccessful attempts at English-only teaching methods, it was realized that literacy in Gaelic was a much more effective means of teaching and a bridge towards fluency in English. Since 1918 education acts have provided for teaching Gaelic in Gaelic-speaking areas, but development was very slow until Gaelic became an initial teaching medium in the Gaelic areas of
Inverness-shire and
Ross-shire from 1958. In 1975 the newly created
Western Isles education authority introduced bilingual
primary education shortly followed by
Highland Region in
Skye. Gaelic-medium primary education commenced with two schools in 1985, growing to 42 units by 1993/94. In
secondary education, Gaelic has long been taught as a subject—often through the medium of English, even to native speakers. A move towards bilingual secondary education in the
Western Isles was frustrated by a change of government in the
1979 United Kingdom general election. Gaelic-medium secondary education has developed less satisfactorily.
Gaelic-medium streams followed on from primary in
Glasgow and
Inverness, with some experimentation in the Western Isles, but the sector is hampered by acute teacher shortage, and an
Ofsted inspectorate report of 1994 regarded Gaelic-medium secondary education as divisive and inappropriate. Third level provision through Gaelic is provided by
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (literally: "the great barn at Ostaig") a Gaelic-medium college based in
Sleat, on the Isle of Skye in north west Scotland. It is part of the
University of the Highlands and Islands, and also has a campus on
Islay known as
Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle. In 2004,
Prince Charles,
Duke of Rothesay, (who is patron of the College) stated that: The beauty of Gaelic music and song is inescapable. But without the living language, it risks becoming an empty shell. That is why an education system, up to the level represented by the college here in Skye, is so important – to ensure fluency and literacy which will continue to renew the health and creativity of the language. The
Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 is the first piece of legislation to give formal recognition to the Gaelic language in Scotland. It recognises Gaelic as an official language of Scotland, commanding "equal respect" with English. Education Minister
Peter Peacock, who has ministerial responsibility for Gaelic, said: "This is a momentous day for Gaelic as we open a new chapter in the language's history. We have come a long way since the dark days of 1616 when an Act of Parliament ruled that Gaelic should be 'abolishit and removit' from Scotland."
Cornwall In 1549, the
Prayer Book Rebellion erupted in Cornwall and Devon partially in response to the introduction of the
Book of Common Prayer and English-language church services by the government. The articles of the rebels stated: "and we the cornyshe men (whereof certen of vs vnderstande no Englysh) vtterly refuse thys new English." Following the rebellion's suppression, the
Cornish language rapidly declined as Cornwall's gentry adopting English to dissociate themselves from the reputation for disloyalty and rebellion associated with the Cornish language. As Cornish declined over the course of the early modern era, this was reflected in Cornwall's schools, which gradually began utilising English as the sole language of instruction.
India English is the principal medium of instruction in
Indian higher education. This originates from the period of
British rule, where during the 19th century authorities in London and India gradually introduced English-medium education. The
Charter Act 1813 decreed that English would be taught in British India's educational systems although not as a replacement for indigenous languages. Instead, it was anticipated that English would co-exist with indigenous languages. In 1835
Lord William Bentinck revitalised the Charter Act with his New Education Policy which determined that English should be the official language of justice, diplomacy and administration in British India; prior to this,
Farsi had been the accepted language of diplomacy. The policy led to a rapid expansion of English-medium education in India as fluency in English granted India's upper and middle classes access to positions in the colonial government or other relatively prestigious jobs. During the 21st century, demand for private schools have rapidly increased in India, which some scholars have attributed to higher demand for English-medium education. At Indian private schools, the medium of education is often English, but
Hindi or the state's official language is also taught as a compulsory subject. As of 2022, a quarter of all Indian children attend private schools. Data collected by the
National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration showed that the number of Indian students studying in English-medium schools increased by 274% between 2003 and 2011 to over 20 million students. Anil Gupta of the
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad claimed that rising number of English-medium schools in India were "capitalising on the huge aspirations of people wanting to improve themselves economically. The desire for education is no more an argument."
Malaysia Up until 1981 in
West Malaysia (and some years later in
East Malaysia), there were English-medium schools set up by the former British colonial government and Christian missionaries. However, following the implementation of the National Language Act 1967 which stipulated the conversion of all English-medium schools to Malay-medium schools, all English-medium schools were completely phased out. The policy has now left many new graduates unemployed as they struggle to find jobs, especially in the
private sector, due to a lack of English proficiency; they can only depend on
public sector jobs provided by the government. This has drawn criticism over the policy by local governments from East Malaysia who are now feeling the impacts on their younger generations caused by the federal government's long-standing policy which has neglected the importance of mastering the
universal language of English. By 2016,
Sarawak had begun to support the re-establishment of English-medium schools and a request for the approval of more English-medium schools in the state from the federal government, using its autonomy in education. The move was followed by
Sabah in 2017 when a minister from the state also urged the return of English-medium schools, which gained support from other ministers.
Indonesia English-medium schools in Indonesia consist of
international schools and
National Plus schools. A National Plus school in Indonesia is a school that offers education beyond the minimum requirements of the national Indonesian accreditation authorities. National Plus schools offer some subjects taught in English and may provide some native English speakers on staff or may offer international curricula such as from
Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) or the
International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). National Plus schools can typically be differentiated from international schools by their core market. International schools tend to primarily exist to serve the needs of expatriate students and national plus schools for Indonesian students; however, there is significant overlap on both sides.
Pakistan The Government of
Pakistan has recently announced the introduction of English lessons on a phased basis to all schools across the country. This new policy states that "English language has been made compulsory from Class-1 onwards" and the "Introduction of English as medium of instruction for science, mathematics, computer science and other selected subjects like economics and geography in all schools in a graduated manner." Caretaker Minister for Education Mr. Shujaat Ali Beg declared 25 January 2008 that 18 colleges of the city of Karachi would be made
"Model English Medium Colleges," Rwanda Rwandan schools began using English as a medium of instruction following the
Rwandan Genocide and the rise to power of the
RPF. In 1996, Rwandan language policy was revised to include English as an official language, and schools became free to use either English or French as a medium of instruction . In November 2008, the Rwandan cabinet passed a resolution requiring all publicly funded schools to switch to English-medium instruction by early 2009. Research on Rwanda’s rapid adoption of English‑medium instruction has highlighted the pedagogical problems and structural inequalities generated by such reforms . Practical problems were raised by the decision, including that there was a severe lack of trained English teachers . Rwanda has been used as a case study demonstrating how English‑medium reforms may be shaped less by pedagogical considerations than by political and economic objectives, including justifying free market economic reforms and establishing
cultural hegemony.
Bangladesh In
Bangladesh the system of education is divided into three different branches. Students are free to choose any one of them provided that they have the means. These branches are: The English Medium, The Bengali Medium, and The Religious Branch. In the English Medium system, courses are all taught in English using English books with the exception for Bengali and Arabic. English-medium schools are mainly private and thus traditionally were reserved for the upper and upper middle class. However huge demand in urban areas has resulted in large number of English-medium schools mushrooming. This has caused a fall in quality. O and A level exams are arranged through the
British Council in
Dhaka.
The Union of Myanmar In the
Union of Myanmar, the education system is based on the British Colonial model, due to nearly a century of British and Christian presences. Nearly all schools are government-operated, and also there has been a recent increase in privately funded English language schools.
The Philippines The United States of America won the
Philippine–American War (1898–1901), and declared the Philippines a US colony. US imperial rule followed.
Mac Síomóin quotes the Filipino scholar
E. San Juan who made the following comment regarding the use made by the US administration of the English language to rule his country: Its conquest of hegemony or consensual rule was literally accomplished through the deployment of English as the official medium of business, schooling and government. This pedagogical strategy was designed to cultivate an intelligencia, a middle stratum divorced from its roots in the plebeian masses, who would service the ideological apparatus of Anglo-Saxon supremacy. Americanization was mediated through English, sanctioned as the language of prestige and aspiration. English is used for instruction at all Universities in The Philippines.
Italy In Italy education is provided in Italian and, by law, it is mandatory until the age of 16. However, there are some English-medium schools which follow the
International Baccalaureate Organization program (which is recognized by Italian Ministry of Education). Its principles refer to the idea of an international and global education, combining pedagogical principles with strict standards. In Italian high-schools, since 2010, some subjects can be taught in a language different from Italian (according to the concept of
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in order to strengthen the students' linguistic competences.
Primary schools Although the national education system is held in Italian, by law, it's possible for children to attend international private schools (which are considered equivalent in their status – they are called "scuole paritarie") that use English as the only language for education. English-medium primary schools in Italy follow the
International Baccalaureate Organization program which has a sub-section dedicated to children (
Primary Years Program – which includes children from 3 to 12 years old).
Secondary schools Secondary education is made up of lower secondary schools (from 12 to 14) and upper secondary schools (from 14 to 19). In both cases, children have the possibility to attend entirely English-taught schools. Concerning middle schools, some of them offer the IB
Middle Years Programme (MYP), which is addressed to students aged 11 to 16; the majority of these schools are located in regions of Northern and Northern-Central Italy. Concluding this course of studies, Italian children come to the end of compulsory education. Since 2010, the content and language integrated learning (
CLIL) approach has been applied in all high schools, through the teaching of a non-linguistic subject in a foreign language (
L2), including English (this methodology has been implemented in graduation year, except for "
liceo linguistico", where it has been introduced in the third year and fourth year with a second language). Students aged 16–19 can choose to attend the
IB Diploma Programme (DP), which is recognised by some universities. This two-year curriculum is mostly provided by schools in Northern and Northern-Central Italy. It is more widely available than the Middle Years Programme. According to law, it is possible for universities to hold classes in a language different from Italian (particularly English), in order to promote cultural exchanges and student mobility, as well as strengthening the cooperation with foreign universities. Nowadays there are some bachelor's and master's degrees that exclusively use English as their vehicular language, while some others are held only partially in English. In 2012 a controversy sparked between the university senate of the
Polytechnic University of Milan and some of its professors, regarding the decision to use English as the sole language of all the master's degrees and the PhDs. The
Italian Constitutional Court examined the matter and delivered the judgment n° 42/2017 which states that the complete exclusion of Italian from these courses clashes with the principle of primacy of the Italian language enshrined in the Constitution. Furthermore, the court explained that the internationalization of the universities cannot be achieved by marginalizing the Italian language, therefore there must be a balance between the offers provided by the university in the two languages.
Slovenia The
University of Ljubljana teaches at least 100 courses in English. In
Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore interviews several American citizens studying at the university who were taking courses taught in English.
Kyrgyzstan Education in the
Kyrgyz Republic is compulsory for nine years between the ages of 7 and 16. This is broken up into four years of primary, five years of high school, and two additional years of high school or vocational school. The majority of instruction is in
Kyrgyz, but the language of instruction in mostly higher institutions is Russian. The Ministry of Education and Science of the
Kyrgyz Republic introduced the
English language into the syllabus as an additional language for grades 3–11 in educational institutions. According to the Ministry of Education of
Kyrgyzstan, the main purpose of
teaching English is to teach the basic level of foreign language, as under market conditions knowledge of
English is necessary. A number of private schools and universities are involved in English-medium education. In some private universities in
Kyrgyzstan, such as
American University of Central Asia (AUCA),
International Alatoo University (IAU),
University of Central Asia (UCA),
OSCE Academy in Bishkek students are taught exclusively in
English. English language viewed in the minds of the young generation of
Kyrgyz Republic with the possibility of receiving education abroad, job opportunities, travel purposes and getting information from
English language sources.
South Africa Colonial education The earliest European schools in South Africa were established in the Cape Colony in the late seventeenth century by Dutch Reformed Church elders committed to biblical instruction, which was necessary for church confirmation. In rural areas, itinerant teachers (meesters) taught basic literacy and math skills. British mission schools proliferated after 1799, when the first members of the London Missionary Society arrived in the Cape Colony.[8] Language soon became a sensitive issue in education. At least two dozen English-language schools operated in rural areas of the Cape Colony by 1827, but their presence rankled among devout Afrikaners, who considered the English language and curriculum irrelevant to rural life and Afrikaner values. Throughout the nineteenth century, Afrikaners resisted government policies aimed at the spread of the English language and British values, and many educated their children at home or in the churches.
Milner Schools In order to anglicize the
Transvaal area during the
Anglo Boer war,
Lord Milner set out to influence British education in the area for the English-speaking populations. He founded a series of schools known as the "Milner Schools" in South Africa. These schools consist of modern day
Pretoria High School for Girls,
Pretoria Boys High School,
Potchefstroom High School for Boys, Hamilton Primary School, and St. Marys DSG. == English-medium instruction (EMI) ==