A green chalkboard is seen with the teacher stands at her desk The KZN Education Department has directed that Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology be taught in mother tongue languages in Grade 4. File Picture: Independent Newspapers Archives
Durban: A circular from the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal shows that the department has directed the implementation of teaching and learning in mother tongue languages for some grades.
Pupils in Grade 4 were expected to start learning through Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) at the beginning of this school year.
The circular, issued in December and signed by the head of department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, confirmed that MTbBE must be implemented at the start of this school year. It directed school governing bodies to lay the groundwork in preparation for the move.
The Mercury understands from some teacher unions that the roll out of the programme is very limited, with only a handful of schools participating in the initiative across the province.
This programme is the realisation of a decision announced by the then minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga.
The circular from the KZN Department of Education outlined how this must be rolled out. It stated that the implementation of MTbBE in Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Technology for Grade 4 was scheduled for this month.
It specified that all schools currently offering African Language Mother Tongue instruction in the Foundation Phase (Grades 1-3) must introduce MTbBE in Grade 4 in 2025.
The circular also said that translanguaging (the practice of alternating between languages in a bilingual or multilingual classroom) will be used to ensure effective mediation of the learning content.
Schools that use English and Afrikaans as the language of teaching and learning in Grades 1 to 3, and have learners whose mother tongue is neither of the two, must initiate a process for the roll-out of MTbBE.
These processes include adopting a dual-medium approach to language instruction and ensuring the availability of adequately trained teachers to cater to all learners.
“School governing bodies are therefore required to review the Schools Language Policy to align with MTbBE policy requirements,” the circular said.
However a teacher union has revealed that the lack of resources is hampering the roll-out of the programme.
National Teachers Union leader Doctor Ngema said the programme is still in the pilot phase.
“I know there are a handful of schools in KwaZulu-Natal that are part of the pilot. I don’t know how many, but there are very few that started this year.”
He said the biggest impediment to the roll-out of the programme has been the lack of resources.
“If you have to teach in your mother tongue, you need the textbooks to be in the mother tongue, and that takes a lot of resources.
“We believe this is the right move by the department. It will level the playing field in a way. Keep in mind that children not learning in their mother tongue need to first understand the language. They must grasp the concepts being taught, which doubles their workload. With this concern addressed, children will be able to learn Mathematics in their mother tongue.”
Nomarashiya Caluza, provincial secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers Union, said she was not aware of any schools that are part of the pilot project in KZN.
“We have not heard anything; the department has not communicated anything. Perhaps they can explain the causes for the delay,” she said.
Khumbulani Mngadi, Director of Language Planning and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the skills and the vocabulary needed already existed to facilitate an easy transition to this process, adding that this had been done before.
“It was there even during the time of apartheid; children of African descent were learning in their mother tongue, and the apartheid regime saw that it was helping children, so they stopped it.
“There was a pilot conducted at a school in Cofimvaba where pupils were taught and assessed in isiXhosa, and they passed with flying colours. So, this is something that has been done; the language is there, and it needs to be updated to accommodate new terms. The teachers have been teaching in this way for many years, and it is just a question of providing them with resources,” he said.