São Tomé and Príncipe is a multilingual country with Portuguese as its official language alongside indigenous languages such as Kimpúmbu and Umbundu. A qualitative approach will be employed to analyse existing literature and data from São Tomé and Príncipe’s educational system, emphasising discourse analysis of language use in schools. This study aims to contribute by providing a comprehensive theoretical foundation that can guide future research and policy development in multilingual African settings. Future research should explore alternative language policies aimed at reducing performance disparities and enhance the effectiveness of bilingual education programmes.