[lg policy] Students at teachers' colleges to learn 3 local languages

[Harold Schiffman]

 Students at teachers' colleges to learn 3 local languages
by Staff Reporter
17 Feb 2018 at 07:49hrs | 1910 Views
STUDENTS at teachers' colleges are now required to learn at least three
indigenous languages to ensure that they can be deployed anywhere in the
country, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

The new policy takes effect when the next intake of students starts and
principals at teachers' colleges have already been told about the changes.
The country's Constitution adopted in 2013 recognises 16 official languages.

Addressing academics during a tour of Solusi University, Higher and
Tertiary Education Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, said this was a new
policy introduced by his Ministry.

"All our students when they are learning must learn at least three
languages so that as a Zimbabwean you can go and communicate with elders
anywhere in the country.

We are saying besides your mother tongue that you were born with, you must
learn three others in the Constitution. You can see it in South Africa,
it's not part of the education system but if you are in Gauteng Province,
you can speak any language," said Prof Murwira.

"Why should I have myself talking in English and being translated to
somewhere down in Bulilima, it's not quite right so we want to take
practical steps.

"The future is now so we are going to do it because it's constitutional and
so we must make sure everybody in teachers' colleges does it.

"I don't know how practical it is in universities but it's so practical for
teachers' colleges that they already start doing that because we've had
problems where teachers are teaching Grade One and they are speaking in
English. It's not right. Surely we can solve this, it's very easy actually."

In Matabeleland provinces, some educationists and analysts have said the
language issue was partly to blame for the poor pass rate in the region.

The issue of non-Ndebele speaking teachers has been brought up at a number
of fora and Government has since decided to address it.

Prof Murwira said the policy shift in terms of languages was meant to
ensure diversity and inclusivity regardless of ethnic background.

"So we want to start a culture of inclusivity. From Zambezi to Limpopo from
Hwange to Mutare it's ours, so we must be comfortable in every centimetre
of the country and it comes from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary
Education. If we don't do this, nobody will do it. This is the vision we
are having for languages and its constitutional, it's just will power which
was not there so will power is there full time," he said.

Prof Murwira encouraged academics to work hard for the good of the country.


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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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