While learning the national language is important, numerous researches conducted all over the world have reached the same conclusion that quality education or literacy can be acquired in only mother tongue, they said.

Organised by Unesco Dhaka in collaboration with Unesco Bangkok and Unesco Institute of Lifelong Learning, the five-day workshop on 'Improving Quality of Mother Tongue/Bilingual Literacy Programmes and Activities' began in the city yesterday.

Japanese ambassador Masayuki Inoue formally inaugurated the workshop at Hotel Sarina, said a press release.

Mentioning that there is only eight years' time to achieve the target of basic education for all, he said it would take persistent and concerted efforts of all quarters involved to attain that goal.

Recalling the Bangalis' glorious sacrifice to establish their right to speak in their mother tongue, Inoue hoped that Bangladesh would accomplish the present challenge of achieving universal literacy.

Malama Meleisea, Unesco representative in Bangladesh, underscored the significance of conducting literacy programmes in mother tongue to facilitate universal access to education.

"Unesco believes in and promotes cultural diversity and when one promotes mother tongue, one is promoting cultural diversity."

Participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Latin America and Africa are taking part in the workshop.

Some of the main issues that featured in the workshop included 'capacity-building in designing mother tongue/bilingual literacy programmes', 'literacy teaching learning methodologies for bilingual education', 'developing strategies for establishment of interregional networks and policy dialogues'.