Tamil language advocate honoured
KWAZULU-NATAL parliamentarian Les Govender was honoured in India for his role in the advancement of the Tamil language in South Africa.
Govender received the Valar Tamil Mamani Award last week from the Madras Tamil Development Society, on behalf of the International Academy for Tamil Language and Culture in Chennai in India.
The award recognises Govender’s efforts since 2000, when he first started advocating for Tamil to be part of the South African school curriculum.
Govender, who returned on Friday, said he was humbled by the recognition: “I received it on behalf of all the hard-working people in South Africa who are doing good work in trying to promote the Tamil language.”
He said he had been negotiating with the Education Department, over the years, to introduce Indian languages at school.
“When I got into the legislature in 2004 I was able to talk to the provincial education ministers. The challenge was the number of children taking Tamil as an exam subject. The MECS said we had to show numbers to justify paying a teacher. Other roleplayers like Mala Lutchmanan were also doing their bit.
“The Merebank Tamil School Society (MTSS) and Mickey Chetty of the International Movement for Tamil Culture were able to get sponsorship and publish textbooks from Grade 1 to Grade 12,” said Govender.
He said there were now children studying Tamil and scoring A symbols.
“It came as a shock when I was contacted by the organisation in India. They identify five countries each year and one person from that country. It was a wonderful experience to meet a person from Saudi Arabia as I didn’t know there were people there promoting the Tamil language,” he said.
Govender said a day after the award ceremony they had a meeting with the Minister for Minorities Welfare and Overseas Tamils, KS Masthan.
“He said we need to tell him what we need in South Africa to promote Tamil. The financial constraints and lack of resources were some of the challenges I raised with him.”
Govender said parents should encourage their children to take Tamil in school.