<div dir="ltr"><div id="storyHeader">
<h1>The language of development</h1>
<p>Prashneel Goundar<br>
Monday, May 23, 2016</p>
</div>
<div id="related">
<div id="storyPic">
<p class=""><a href="http://www.fijitimes.com/images/artpics/354902.jpg" rel="lightbox" title="The author says while bilingualism is important in nation building, a person's first language is very important to critical thinking. Picture: SOPHIE RALULU"><img src="http://www.fijitimes.com/images/artpics/354902thumbm.jpg" alt="The author says while bilingualism is important in nation building, a person's first language is very important to critical thinking. Picture: SOPHIE RALULU" width="200">\</a></p>
<p>The author says while bilingualism is important in nation
building, a person's first language is very important to critical
thinking. Picture: SOPHIE RALULU</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="">IN 2000, the People's Coalition government
established an Education Commission. In fact, after gaining
independence, this was the first education commission as prior to it was
the 1969 Fiji Education Commission: Education for Modern Fiji.</p>
<p>The commission established in 2000 included Professor Kazim
Bacchus (chair), Dr Evelyn Coxon, Professor D Sadler, Mrs Suliana
Siwatibau, Professor Subramani, Dr Esther Williams, Iosefo Nainima, Dr
Akhila Nand Sharma, Dr Helen Tavola and Philip Taylor.</p><p>The
commission produced a 515-page document titled; Learning Together:
Directions for Education in the Fiji Islands. Even though the
commission's work was interrupted by the 2000 coup, the report produced
by the panel was one of the most unbiased, objectifiable, well
researched report which looks at various issues such as the levels of
education (primary, secondary and tertiary), the quality of education,
early childhood education, curriculum and assessment, special education,
language policy and planning (LPP) and other pivotal issues.</p><p>
Language issues have been debated by previous governments considerably.
For example, in 2005, there was a National Language debate, during which
the then minister for education stated, "If Indians in the country lost
their language, there is a whole continent of people in India who would
still have the language". She further stated, "In the whole world only
330,000 people know how to speak in Fijian (iTaukei) and if it is lost,
there is nowhere it can be revived from, that is why the Fijian language
is important to preserve" (Word Press, 2009).</p><p>A decade later, 16
years to be precise, we have had another education forum. However, the
issues of languages highlighted by the 2000 commission, remain neglected
or resolved to a certain extent.</p><p>One of the first issues
highlighted in the report discusses the improper planning of language
policy before its implementation. For example, the Ministry of
Education's project of providing conversational Fijian and Hindi and the
decision by individual school managements to introduce the teaching of
Fijian to all students has not been very fruitful because these
initiatives, though laudable, did not emanate from language planning and
therefore lacked political support, expertise and community
involvement. Furthermore, the study outlined that the teacher training
institutions certainly had no part in planning either the teaching of
Fijian or the conversational Fijian and Hindi programs.</p><p>This is
precisely why even though Fiji Hindi is being taught in schools there
has not been lack of publication of textbooks in the language let alone
materials for conversational Hindi.</p><p>This is something that needs to be developed in order to control the imbalance between the major languages in Fiji.</p><p>The
imbalance between the three major languages (English, Fijian and Hindi)
has existed well before independence. In the Education Commission
report of 1969, emphasis was made on encouraging vernacular teaching yet
little was conceptualised to action this.</p><p>English being the lingua franca in Fiji continues to be the dominating language as it was when the 2000 Commission was prepared.</p><p>It
stated that even though the 1997 Constitution recognised that Fiji was a
multilingual state and that the main languages (Fijian, Hindi and
English) were equal in terms of status, use and function. The reality is
though, that English remains the official language.</p><p>A simple walk
into any bookshop around the country will only show shelves filled with
English literature and fewer number of books published in iTaukei
language and none in Fiji Hindi then what to say of the minority
languages such as Rotuman, Tamil, Telegu, Gujarati, Punjabi and Chinese.</p><p>Oratory
contests are held throughout the year at national level for primary and
high school students on various topics such as climatic change, child
abuse, road safety and, non-communicable diseases.</p><p>The orators are
required to deliver their arguments in the English language. Why cannot
the organisers have other languages and more importantly the mother
tongue promoted on the same topics?</p><p>An analysis of the media
industry in Fiji can raise questions such as how many movies have been
produced in the iTaukei or Fiji Hindi languages? How much of local
content is being aired on the two television stations?</p><p>On the same
note, how many books/plays/literature have been translated into the two
major languages? Consequently, can we still consider the three
languages to have achieved equal status in the country today?</p><p>A
particular recommendation that was made in the 2000 report highlighted
the need to refine the concept of mother tongue (first language or L1).
Parents have the right to educate their children in their mother tongue.
Furthermore, the concept of mother tongue should be redefined, taking
into consideration regional variations.</p><p>This rule is still
followed to some extent as the 1926 policy of teaching L1 for the first
three years of primary school and transitioning into English as a medium
of instruction from the fourth year.</p><p>On the contrary, the report
is correct in stating that mother tongue needs to be refined in Fiji.
For example, Fiji Hindi is not the L1 for all Fiji Indians; their L1
includes Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, and Bhojpuri. Fiji
Hindi becomes the lingua franca for the Indo-Fijian majority and not
the L1.</p><p>Finally, the commission discussed the issue of
bilingualism in Fiji. Even though bilingualism might be increasing
nation-building, the parents stated its adverse nature. The majority of
parents recognise the importance of Fijians and Indo-Fijians learning
each other's language.</p><p>At the same time they are worried that too
much time devoted to languages could affect their children's performance
in other subjects. Some further believe that since English is so
important nationally and internationally, all efforts should be directed
towards perfecting skills in it.</p><p>This issue is still persisting
in Fiji today as parents speak in English to children as young as two
years at home, in towns, on the bus and literally everywhere! If the
parents attitudes have not changed then there continues to be a flaw in
the education system as recent research demonstrates clearly how
effective the first language is in critical thinking and growth.</p><p>Take
for example, a country such as Japan that has become one of the most
developed countries today, with new technology being introduced daily
and having an impressive track record in the automotive industry all
while still maintaining the use of their mother tongue.</p><p>The Fiji
Islands Education Commission Report 2000: Learning Together: Directions
for Education in the Fiji Islands is an authoritative document that
policymakers should recourse to during implementation processes, for
guidance, to comprehend structures in the education sector and not let
it be an archived document which is left for researchers to use
exclusively.</p><p>* Prashneel Goundar is a lecturer in language at the
School of Communication, Language and Literature, Department of Language
and Literature, Fiji National University. The views expressed are his
and not of this newspaper. For comments or suggestions, please email
<a href="mailto:prgoundar@gmail.com">prgoundar@gmail.com</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=354902">http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=354902</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
</div>