Peruvian language education policy toward speakers of indigenous tongues

BASED ON MODERN PRINCIPLES OF CULTURAL PLURALISM AND REAFFIRMATION OF ETHNIC DIVERSITY, PERUVIAN EDUCATORS HAVE ARTICULATED AN IMPRESSIVE, FAR-REACHING LANGUAGE POLICY. WHETHER THE POLICY CAN BE SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED WILL DEPEND ON MANY FACTORS, PARTICULARLY ON THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT A WORKABLE SYSTEM INVOLVING MORE THAN 20 DIALECTS OF THE MAJOR NATIVE LANGUAGE, QUECHUA, OVER A WIDE GEOGRAPHIC AREA. POLITICAL NECESSITY IS A STRONG INCENTIVE IN THE PRESENT SITUATION. THE PERUVIAN EXPERIMENT IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION WILL PRESENT A RICH RESEARCH MILIEU FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION, IN THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN NATIONAL INTEGRATION, AND IN THE BLEND OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES FOR THE ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.