[lg policy] Ramaphosa's African Language Policy is aActually 5 years old

Tue Mar 6 16:15:41 UTC 2018

   - Home <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/>
   - The Street <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/street/>
   - The Agenda <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/the-agenda/>
   - Fees Must Fall <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/fees-must-fall/>
   - Life & Health <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/life-health/>
   - Columnists <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/debate/columnists/>
   - The Continent <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/the-continent/>
   - More
   <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/ramaphosas-african-language-education-policy-actually-5-years-old-fatima-moosa/#>
      - <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/world/>
      - <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/editorial/>

   - Home <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za>
   - Education <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/education/>

Education <http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/category/education/>
Ramaphosa’s African Language Education Policy Is Actually 5 Years Old
[image: Fatima Moosa]By *Fatima Moosa*
<http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/author/fatima/> On *Mar 6, 2018*
*Share*
<https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailyvox.co.za%2Framaphosas-african-language-education-policy-actually-5-years-old-fatima-moosa%2F>
<https://twitter.com/share?text=Ramaphosa’s African Language Education
Policy Is Actually 5 Years Old
@thedailyvox&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailyvox.co.za%2Framaphosas-african-language-education-policy-actually-5-years-old-fatima-moosa%2F>
<https://plus.google.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailyvox.co.za%2Framaphosas-african-language-education-policy-actually-5-years-old-fatima-moosa%2F>
<?subject=Ramaphosa’s African Language Education Policy Is Actually 5 Years
Old&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailyvox.co.za%2Framaphosas-african-language-education-policy-actually-5-years-old-fatima-moosa%2F>

*During his inaugural State of the Nation Speech
<http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/7-quotes-from-president-cyril-ramaphosas-sona-fatima-moosa/>,
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that in an “historic” first, from the
beginning of the 2018 academic year, all public schools will begin offering
an African language. However, due to SONA largely being about the policy
and not the implementation, there are many questions about what this
actually means. The Daily Vox team takes a further look.*

*Section 29(2) of the Constitution
<http://section27.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Chapter-11.pdf>*
provides that every learner has the right to receive a basic education in
the language of his or her choice, where this is reasonably practicable.

NGO Section27 has said that right is “an important tool in making a break
from apartheid, in which language in education was used to perpetuate
oppression and inequality. In working towards the achievement of equality,
and in giving specific recognition to African languages, learners now have
a right to learn in their chosen language, where this is reasonably
practicable.”

Back in 2013 during her budget speech, basic education (DBE) minister Angie
Motshekga announced that a new policy would be coming into effect in 2014.
This policy mandated that an African language should be taught in all
schools. The *policy
<http://www.702.co.za/articles/262549/african-languages-to-be-taught-in-all-south-african-schools-by-2018>*
was only formally implemented in 2016. The rollout has been slow with only
970 out of 3 558 schools which did not offer an African language now
offering an African language. However, out of the 25 000 schools in the
country, most were already offering a previously marginalised African
language as a subject.

<http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/table-1-for-education-story.jpg>

The policy called the Incremental Implementation of African Languages
(IIAL) policy was *explained
<https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-06-12-analysis-can-basic-educations-new-language-policy-work/#.Wpey8KhubIW>*
at the time by the acting deputy director general for curriculum Mathanzima
Mweli as overdue. Mweli said that the policy came about because of the
constitutional provision in the South African Bill of Rights which allows
for everyone to receive an education in the official language of their
choice.

The policy planned to incrementally introduce learners to an African
language from Grade 1 to 12 to ensure that all non-African home language
speakers speak an African language and to provide access to languages to
all learners beyond English and Afrikaans.

In the *draft regulation
<https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/IIAL%20Policy%20September%202013.pdf?ver=2014-04-09-162048-000>*,
the policy was supposed to be implemented incrementally commencing in Grade
1 in 2015 and would continue until 2026 when it will be implemented in
Grade 12.

In 2013, the plan was to introduce African languages *incrementally
<https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-06-12-analysis-can-basic-educations-new-language-policy-work/#.Wpa6M6hubIU>*
for learners from Grade R. Mweli, who explained the plan to the
parliamentary portfolio committee on education in 2013, did not answer the
questions regarding the quality of the teachers as well as the availability
of African language teachers.

<http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/table-2-for-education-story.jpg>

Elijah Mhlanga, spokesperson for the DBE, said in an interview with The
Daily Vox that learners are being taught a previously marginalised official
African language at different language levels (Home Language level, First
Additional Language level, and Second Additional Language level) and this
depends on school language selection as determined by the school policy.

However, there are some problems still plaguing the implementation of this
policy.

-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 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/

-------------------------------------------------
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20180306/603786a9/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
_______________________________________________
This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list
lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
To manage your subscription unsubscribe, or arrange digest format: https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/listinfo/lgpolicy-list