Language Policy Implementation in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
Conference, University of South Africa, Pretoria
5 October 2006
"Language issues and challenges"
Professor Neo Mathabe
Professor Chris Swanepoel
Professor Finlayson
Members of UNISA Council
Conference participants
Universities are leading agents of social enquiry and usually leaders in the
creation of new ideas and solutions. I hope that this conference will assist in
the development of a reasoned and balanced deliberation on the role and place
all languages should have in education, and in the social progress of South
Africa.
Our constitution asserts that all our languages have equal status. But in
recognition of the marginalisation of indigenous languages in our past, "the
state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and
advance the use of these languages."
Regarding language in education, the Constitution states that, "everyone has
the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their
choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably
practicable" (Section 29(2) of the Constitution).
Further, it indicates that the exercise of language choices in education
should not be in conflict with considerations of equity and redress within the
context of our shared values and aspirations as a nation. The Department of
Education has published policy to give effect to these provisions of the
Constitution. The Language in Education Policy (1997) and the Language Policy
for Higher Education (2002) were designed to promote multilingualism in the
education sector. Their aim is to ensure that all South African languages are
"developed to their full capacity while at the same time ensuring that the
existing languages of instruction (English and Afrikaans) do not serve as a
barrier to access and success."
The published policy encourages the development of indigenous African
languages as mediums of instruction in the higher education system, alongside
English and Afrikaans. In 2003, the Ministry appointed a Ministerial Committee,
chaired by Professor Njabulo Ndebele, to provide advice for the development and
use of African indigenous languages as mediums of instructions in higher
education. The committee report made a startling but not surprising finding
that the future of African languages as mediums of instruction is bleak if
nothing is done immediately. It recommended development of a "well
co-ordinated, long-range national plan that would work at national, provincial
and local levels to provide adequate resources and support for indigenous
African languages."
Certainly, the success of such a plan would require systemic under-girding
by the entire schooling system and the enhanced public and social use of
indigenous African languages in the daily lives of South Africans. The
committee also recommended that each tertiary institution in South Africa
should identify an indigenous African language of choice for initial
development as medium of instruction. Where the language of choice is a
particular regionally dominant language, Higher Education Institutions in that
region should utilise a regional approach.
I am pleased that a number of universities have responded positively to the
language policy for higher education and some of the recommendations made by
the Ministerial Committee and have developed and revised their institutional
language policies to align them with the national policy. I continue to engage
with stakeholders and role-players on language issues, so as to seek ways of
finding a better and more effective implementation of our language policy.
On 31 July this year the Department of Education hosted a language
colloquium in Cape Town. At the colloquium concern was expressed over the slow
implementation of language policy and over a variety of barriers to its
implementation. There was consensus that the current school language policy
(1997) should be retained and that measures should be taken to ensure its
implementation. Two messages, which came out loud and clear from the various
inputs, were the following:
* that the Department of Education needs to encourage mother-tongue
education for at least six-years
* that higher education needs to play an active role in developing and
promoting the learning and teaching of indigenous languages.
As a result of the colloquium, the department undertook to develop a plan to
implement the language policy. The plan will focus on the following areas of
intervention:
(a) A national six-year mother tongue education programme aimed at using
learners' home languages as mediums of instruction in the foundation and
intermediate phase. In this regard, the programme will make a distinction
between schools serving uni-lingual and multi-lingual learner populations.
(b) A national general and further education second language programme.
(c) A national indigenous language learning programme that will focus on the
compulsory achievement of communicative competence in an indigenous language by
all learners. This will also incorporate the role of provinces in developing
and promoting the learning of languages that are official in those
provinces.
(d) A national programme to make available to learners all external
assessment tools in the national Senior Certificate and later in grade 9 and
systemic evaluation at grades 3 and 6 in indigenous languages.
The aim of this component of the implementation plan is to assist learners
who are currently learning in a second language to understand the assessment
instruments better.
(e) A national programme to revitalise the teaching and learning of
indigenous languages in higher education institutions. This will focus on
supporting the learning of the languages in all undergraduate programmes and
also in teacher-education programmes.
(f) Launching a vigorous information and advocacy aimed at assisting parents
and learners to make informed language decisions.
(g) The development of capacity at all levels of the system to implement all
aspects of the language in education policy. This requires a focus on the
development of the language support services of school district teams and the
provision of support for school management teams and school governing bodies to
implement the language in education policy.
With respect to the higher education sector, the language policy for higher
education will guide activities in this area. A number of initiatives have been
taken and are being planned to realise the objectives of the policy.
As part of our initiative to promote multilingualism in higher education,
the Department of Education supports a number of pilot projects under the South
African-Norway Tertiary Education Development programme. The focus of the pilot
project is promoting multilingual proficiency for academic staff and students
registered in service disciplines such as social work, law, nursing, medicine
and other health sciences. Support is also provided for academic tutorials
conducted in indigenous languages.
We are aware that these interventions are not enough to address the huge
challenges that we face. However, we believe that they make a valuable
contribution that higher education institutions can build on and consolidate to
ensure that we create an environment where multilingualism will become a
reality, not in the residences alone but in the lecture halls as well.
Indeed, the future of South African languages as areas of academic study and
research is a matter of pressing concern for all of us. The role of language
and access to language skills is critical to enabling individuals to realise
their full potential to participate in and contribute to the social, cultural
and intellectual life of the South African society.
I hope that by the end of this conference you will be able to make some
suggestions as to how we can move faster towards creating and consolidating a
multilingual environment in our higher education institutions.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
5 October 2006
