N m’a faamu. Boosting Learning Through Bilingual Education: Evidence from Mali

Bilingual education is increasingly recognized as a tool to address learning deficits in linguistically diverse contexts such as sub-Saharan countries. In this study, I analyze the long-term impacts of Mali’s 1999 bilingual education reform, which introduced local languages alongside French in primary schools. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach with detailed school-level data, I find that exposure to the reform improved literacy in both French and local languages and increased school attendance. Women concentrate all benefits of bilingual education. However, its effectiveness depends on sufficient educational resources, such as low student-teacher ratios. These findings highlight the potential of mother tongue-based instruction to enhance learning and promote equity when paired with adequate school inputs.

Working Paper