Matric exams in mother tongue
POLICY: MIXED REACTIONS TO ‘DECOLONISE’ EDUCATION
Pupils will write in languages other than Afrikaans and English.
Pupils from some schools in the Eastern Cape will be able to write their 2020 matric exams in isiXhosa and Sesotho. This includes maths and science, according to an announcement in December by the Eastern Cape MEC for education, Fundile Gade.
This is the first time matric pupils will be able to write their exams in languages other than Afrikaans and English.
The department has been running home language learning programmes from lower grades since 2012, with the goal of being able to write matric exams in isiXhosa, Sotho and other indigenous languages.
The announcement was met with largely positive reactions, with some celebrating it as a step towards “decolonising” basic education. However, there are concerns with the lack of multilingual materials.
Nic Spaull, education researcher from Stellenbosch University, labelled the move “a very positive development, not only to decolonise the curriculum, but to support teaching and learning”.
Spaull highlighted that “children learn best when they learn in a language they speak and understand”.
However he said that he had “reservations about the implementation of the policy” rather than the intent. He questioned whether “the materials [textbooks and previous exam papers] exist in these languages” and whether “the quality of translation and marking” is ready for Grade 12 level.
Xolisa Guzula, who is an education researcher at the University of Cape Town and works on developing isiXhosa reading and teaching materials, said this was a positive move by the department. But she stressed that examiners would need to take into account the variety of isiXhosa dialects.
She also expressed concern at the fact that most universities “are not yet offering bilingual degrees” so isiXhosa matric students could be put at a disadvantage at university.
Equal Education researcher Marc Jacobs said that the organisation “supports the use of mother tongue instruction in schools”. He said: “English has been a barrier for many black pupils understanding the curriculum”.
But, he stressed that if this programme was to be implemented successfully, there must be textbooks for all grades in isiXhosa and Sesotho, and teachers must be “trained to teach various subjects in isiXhosa and Sotho”.
Republished from GroundUp