ABSTRACT
To the low income countries, which formerly were colonial dependencies, language policy in education is a common problem. The language of administration and of commerce inherited from the days of colonial tutelage is almost invariably the language of the former imperial power. That used in education in the later stages, and often in the earlier stages as well, is similarly the language of the former imperial power. Economic literacy, that is to say, literacy likely to give the individual the opportunity to enter upon a permanent wage or salary earning career, except at the lowest levels of income, is also the language of the imperial power.
