1 The Challenges of Bilingual Education in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Republic of China David Strawbridge Education Advisor, Save the Children Abstract In China, the right of children to learn their own mother tongue and a second language is incorporated in national education policy. According to a large body of research, one of the most effective ways in which this can be achieved is through bilingual education, where a second language is learned after a foundation is first built in mother tongue. However current bilingual education trends in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China make it increasingly difficult for minority children to do so. This paper looks at the bilingual education situation in Xinjiang, describes the challenges of implementing a bilingual education programme in the region, and outlines the strategies that Save the Children use to promote the use of mother tongue in the education of minority children. Background The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is located in the very northwest of China, and makes up one sixth of China’s territory. The population of the region is just over 20 million with ethnic minority groups, mostly Uyghur and Kazak, making up about 60 percent of the total. The Han Chinese population in the region has increased from six percent in 1949 to just over 40 percent today. Many people of this very remote region of China, with its inhospitable terrain and harsh climate, live in extreme poverty, despite the rapid economic growth taking place elsewhere in China. Primary schools in Xinjiang With a large population of Han Chinese living alongside the many ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, there are three different types of primary schools that cater for the various language groups. One is the “Han” school, attended predominantly by Han children, and a small but increasing number of minority children, with all subjects taught in Mandarin by Han teachers. Another is the “Combined school”, attended by Han and minority children who can study in Mandarin only, or take classes in which mother tongue is taught as a subject, with all other subjects taught in Mandarin. The third type of primary school is the “Ethnic school” where minority children make up 100 percent of the enrolment. These children learn mother tongue as a subject and have all other subjects taught in Mandarin. Save the Children’s education work in Xinjiang Save the Children UK is an International Non Government Organisation that works with government partners to help them realise child rights, and improve the welfare and development of vulnerable children. As part of this focus in China, we are implementing a three year education project in two areas of Xinjiang. Both of these areas, Urumchi County on the outskirts of Urumchi City and Yining City near the Kazakhstan border, are mainly populated by Kazak or Uyghur ethnic minorities.