"The ethnic groups that live in Burma/Myanmar possess distinctive national, cultural and language identities. However, the teaching of indigenous minority languages has been prohibited since 1962, and, even though changes are being introduced, that policy largely remains in place today. The paper outlines brief historical background of eight major ethnic groups and, introduces to the ethnic languag es and their status in Burmese/Myanmar education. It considers issues relating the teaching of ethnic minority languages, and discusses the question, "What should be the policy on language education in Burma/Myanmar?" The paper argues that there is a need to take into consideration „multilingual education‟ in the light of the linguistic diversity that exists in Burma. It sees linguistic diversity as a positive characteristic of the country, and safeguarding this diversity as an important task for its citizens."...