South Africa’s language education policy has after nine years not yet been put into effect ”convincingly”, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday.
”The policy, adopted in 1997 has not been implemented convincingly up to this point,” Naledi told the Language Colloquium in Cape Town.
”Resources have not been made available in amounts that would give effect to the policy.”
She said the department’s language education policy sought to achieve a number of important goals.
Firstly, it encouraged use of the mother tongue as a preferred language of teaching.
It was, in the second place, aimed at teaching young people a language other than their mother tongue. Thirdly, young people should have the ability to communicate in a third indigenous language.
Pandor said the success of the policy depended on how well mother-tongue education was managed.
The policy was not aimed at denying children the opportunity to learn English or any other second language.
”Rather, it is empowering through the assertion that language-learning opportunities must be made available in all the official languages of South Africa.”
Pandor said the main obstacle to promoting mother-tongue learning was parent resistance since they preferred their children to be taught in English.
”The obstacle that this preference creates is compounded by the fact that not enough teachers have been adequately prepared to teach in English.”
She said there was also evidence that children not taught in their mother-tongue experienced schooling difficulties.
Pandor expressed the hope that the Language Colloquium would assist the department in evaluating initiatives and in learning from practice elsewhere.
The aim of the colloquium is to discuss policy and practice regarding language in education.
Provincial education MEC’s, department heads, academics and representatives of other government departments attended the colloquium. – Sapa