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Bodiel Fall is an expert in international education cooperation with nearly 15 years of experience in bilingual and multilingual education. Since 2022, she has been the coordinator of the École et Langues Nationales (ELAN) programme within the Institut de la Francophonie pour l’éducation et la formation (IFEF), a specialized body of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF). 

In Francophone sub-Saharan Africa, numerous experiments in bi- and multilingual education, where both national languages and French are used as mediums of instruction, have taken place for several decades. These efforts have been encouraged and supported by the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF) through the ELAN programmeme. Recent studies and evaluations, such as PASEC 2019, have demonstrated the added value of this approach compared to monolingual French instruction in terms of student performance. It is widely recognized that using students’ spoken languages as a medium of instruction enhances comprehension and makes learning more effective, both for language acquisition and other subjects. 

Today, there is growing international and national awareness of the importance of multilingualism and the role of national languages in schools to improve the quality of education. The question of "why" has been settled but what remains is the challenge of scaling up this major educational reform at the national level. 

There is political will at the national level, but implementation remains a challenge. Despite the awareness, bi- and multilingual education is not always explicitly prioritized in sectoral policies. This hinders its operationalization, as national strategies are not clearly defined, and the necessary funding (from national budgets and technical and financial partners) cannot be mobilized in a significant way. 

Integrating multilingualism into an education system requires a systemic, multidimensional reform. This vision must go beyond a project-based approach to ensure long-term sustainability. 

A holistic approach is needed, including: 

• Integrating multilingualism throughout the entire foundational education cycle in a bilingual educational continuum. 
• Implementing an explicit, additive bilingualism model with structured language skill transfer.
• Addressing both linguistic and non-linguistic subjects.
• Ensuring a multidimensional reform that includes institutional framework revisions, linguistic planning, development of appropriate teaching materials, teacher and pedagogical staff training, adapting student assessment methods to the multilingual context, and advocacy and awareness campaigns to promote the use of national languages in schools. 

Two key conditions must also be met for an efficient multilingual reform: 

• Defining school-based multilingualism as a national sectoral priority, with a significant share of the national budget allocated to its implementation. 
• Developing and adopting explicit bi- and multilingual education policies. 

The ELAN programme supports 12 partner countries in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa in implementing bi- and multilingual educational reforms through a differentiated and multidimensional approach. Each country’s sociolinguistic and political context is considered, allowing for optimal contextualization and easier scaling. 

The programme has also developed a pedagogical approach for literacy acquisition in a bi- and multilingual context, based on research in cognitive and learning psychology. This method includes structured and progressive decoding combined with comprehension, early writing activities, an emphasis on oral skills (especially in second languages) to develop vocabulary, and the creation of a literate environment in classrooms. 

Following an experimental phase, several countries are now scaling up or even generalizing bi- and multilingual education. Some have successfully done so by defining a clear and realistic national vision for the bilingual reform’s deployment, moving beyond the experimental stage. 

For instance, Burkina Faso has developed a "Harmonized Bilingual Education Framework," officially adopted by decree in 2024. The country has also designed a financial simulation model for scaling up bilingual education, developed with support from the IIEP-UNESCO Dakar and IFEF-ELAN, and approved by national education authorities. In Burkina Faso, bilingual education allows students to complete primary school in five years instead of the six years required in the traditional monolingual curriculum, offering significant economic and pedagogical benefits to the education system. 

Senegal is following a similar path, with the development and adoption of its "Harmonized Bilingual Education Model of Senegal" (MOHEBS), which has been operational since the 2024-2025 school year.