Uganda: Parents urged to promote African languages

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Parents urged to promote African languages
September 20, 2006


Uganda's state minister for Gender, Isanga Nakadama has advised parents to
stop forcing their children to speak English.

By Risdel Kasasira

The minister who was presiding over the World Cultural Day in Kampala,
says for African cultures to survive, native languages must be protected
especially at family level. She says there are families where children are
beaten because they speak native languages. Nakadama says this is an
unfortunate situation that will kill African languages. Nakadama said
Ugandan government is planning to introduce teaching of vernaculars from
primary to secondary level in order to help maintain local languages in
every locality. The minister of relief and disaster preparedness, Prof.
Tarsis Kabwegyere proposed that the Institute of Languages at Makerere
University, Uganda's leading public university to work with the ministry
of gender, labour and social development to design a national language
policy. Kabwegyere says the policy should be written in all native
languages of Uganda.

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.fullStory&sp=l52215

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