Southeast Asia is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, with an estimated 1,000 languages spoken across its countries. While some nations such as Brunei Darussalam and Singapore have fewer than 30 languages, Indonesia alone is home to more than 700. Each language carries history, identity, and a sense of belonging for the communities that speak it.

In a region where linguistic diversity is both cultural strength and an educational challenge, ensuring that children understand the language of learning is critical to improving foundational outcomes.

Yet when children enter classrooms where they cannot understand the language of instruction, this rich diversity can become a barrier to learning.

Research consistently shows that children learn best in their mother tongue, particularly during the early years of schooling. Data from the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) 2019 revealed that students who spoke the same language at home and in school significantly outperformed their peers in reading and writing. This evidence highlights the critical role of language alignment in supporting foundational learning.

Recognising this challenge, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel in Language (SEAQIL), together with the SEAMEO Secretariat and with technical support from UNESCO, has launched the Southeast Asian Roadmap on Multilingual Education (SEA-MLE Roadmap)— the first coordinated regional framework designed to guide countries in strengthening multilingual education policies and practices.

More than a policy framework, the Roadmap represents a shared regional commitment: language should never be the reason a child is left behind. It also contributes to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 4, which calls for equitable and inclusive quality education for all.

The Reality We Cannot Ignore

Across Southeast Asia, the language spoken at home often differs from the language used in school. For many learners, this creates a quiet but significant barrier to understanding lessons and participating fully in the classroom.

Global data under SDG Indicator 4.5.2 shows significant home-school language mismatches across the region. In countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, more than 90% of primary learners receive instruction in their home language. In contrast, in the Philippines, only 7% of primary learners are taught in their mother tongue.

This mismatch contributes significantly to the region’s learning challenges, particularly in reading and mathematics.

Recognising the urgency of this issue, the 2024 Fortaleza Declaration identified mother tongue-based foundational learning as one of the most effective strategies for accelerating progress in education.

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) is not about prioritising one language over another. Rather, it creates a bridge between home and school, identity and opportunity, and potential and achievement.

A Roadmap Designed for Diversity

The SEA-MLE Roadmap recognises a fundamental reality: in a region as diverse as Southeast Asia, there is no single model that fits all countries.

Instead of prescribing a rigid formula, the Roadmap introduces a flexible “track approach” that allows each country to advance multilingual education according to its unique linguistic landscape, institutional capacity, and national priorities.

The Roadmap outlines six interlinked policy tracks to guide action:

1. Access Track: Expands multilingual education programmes to reach remote, indigenous, migrant, and disadvantaged communities where the risk of learning gaps and dropout is highest.
   
   
2. Learning Track: Develops curricula and assessments that recognise linguistic diversity while measuring language proficiency and subject mastery separately.
   
   
3. Teachers Track: Strengthens the recruitment and professional development of teachers who are proficient in both the learners’ mother tongues and the national language.
   
   
4. Policies Track: Encourages governments to integrate language inclusion into national education frameworks and ensure sustainable policy support and funding.
   
   
5. Data Track: Improves monitoring systems to collect disaggregated data on learners’ mother tongues (SDG 4.5.2) and learning outcomes (SDG 4.1.1).
   
   
6. Community Track: Engages families, communities, and local leaders in supporting multilingual education and fostering pride in linguistic and cultural heritage.

Governance and the Path to 2030

To support effective implementation, the SEA-MLE Roadmap is aligned with the SEAMEO Strategic Plan 2021–2030.

SEAQIL has requested each member country to appoint two National Focal Points from their Ministries of Education to support the coordination of Roadmap implementation. These focal points will assist in coordinating data collection, facilitating capacity-building activities, and reporting progress at the annual SEAQIL Governing Board Meetings.

The Roadmap also encourages peer learning among SEAMEO Member Countries, enabling governments to share experiences, policy innovations, and good practices in multilingual education.

Progress reports will also be presented to the SEAMEO High Officials Meeting (HOM) and the SEAMEO Council Conference (SEAMEC), ensuring transparent regional monitoring and continued collaboration among Member Countries.

Through this government structure, the Roadmap serves as a living regional instrument, adaptable to evolving educational priorities as Southeast Asia works toward achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

The Future We are Building

The SEA-MLE Roadmap affirms a simple but transformative idea: every child deserves to understand and be understood in the classroom.

When children first develop strong literacy and cognitive skills in their mother tongue, they build a solid foundation for learning additional languages and mastering academic subjects in later years.

Through this regional initiative, Southeast Asia is not only addressing learning challenges but also strengthening inclusive and equitable education systems for the future.

In a region defined by linguistic diversity, every language can become a bridge to learning—and the SEA-MLE Roadmap provides the blueprint for building that bridge.

Download the SEA-MLE Roadmap