CHILDREN at Northern Province schools will be able to learn in their own language, isiNdebele, for the first time when it is introduced as a subject for first-language speakers next year. Although isiNdebele is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages, it has never been taught as a school subject. Northern Province has an estimated 72506 Ndebele citizens. “We cannot allow the continued marginalisation of our people’s cultural heritage,” education MEC Edgar Mushwana said, adding that the department will initially focus on the Monsterloos area in the Nebo district which borders Mpumalanga, where the majority of people speak isiNdebele.