only schooling in East Turkistan sparks fears of Uyghur language erasure

Washington DC [US], February 22 (ANI): On International Mother Language Day, observed annually on February 21 and proclaimed by UNESCO, conversations around linguistic diversity have taken on renewed urgency as concerns mount over education policies affecting Uyghur students in East Turkistan. In a video shared on X, residents of East Turkistan, including a student, stated that they are increasingly being placed in Mandarin-only schooling systems, where instruction in their mother tongue has been significantly reduced or removed altogether. These measures amount to the systematic sidelining of the Uyghur language within formal education. A mother tongue often serves as the primary…