International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of UN resolution in 2002. Mother Language Day is part of a broader initiative titled: “The potential role of technology in order to advance multilingual education”.
On IMLD this year, the DBE took a decision to launch the rollout of the extension of Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) in the Eastern Cape Province as the province has been piloting the strategy since 2012. In collaboration with the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the Eastern Cape Department of Education, the DBE and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), celebrated IMLD and the roll-out of MTbBE in 2025.
Welcomed on stage by the ECDoE, the MEC for Education, Mr Fundile Gade and the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, made the announcement of the rollout of MTbBE from Grade 4 in 2025 during the packed event that drew different stakeholders and role-players including Teacher Unions, educators and parents. Hon Mlibo Qoboshiyane, Deputy Speaker of the EC Legislature and the MEC for DSRAC, Ms Nonceba Kontsiwe, were also on the programme. Traditional leadership from the House of Traditional Leaders, Mr Nkosi Gwazinamba Matanzima, also gave a message of support.
Basic Education Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli and DSAC’s Acting Director-General, Ms Cynthia Khumalo, were part of this year’s speakers on the programme. Prof Somadoda Fikeni also delivered a speech under the theme: “Multilingual education – a pillar of learning and intergenerational learning”, which underscores the importance of inclusive education and the preservation of indigenous languages through the adoption and implementation of multilingual language policies and practices. He had the task of reflecting on the role of the late MEC of Education, Mr Mandla Makupula who contributed to the MTbBE pilot implementation in the EC and to the late former HoD, Mr Themba Kojana, who led the transformation whist he was the HoD of Education. He expressed that this was meant to create awareness of the vital role languages play in development and ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. Furthermore, this sought to strengthen co-operation amongst the departments whilst ensuring the attainment of quality education as part of the decoloniality project. All speakers echoed sentiments that the time had come to rollout MTbBE to all children.
The Minister gave an overview of why the launch had to happen in the Eastern Cape; a province that took the baton, when the Language Transformation Program (LTP) was canned when the Democratic Alliance took over power in the Western Cape where it started. The EC put its hand up to champion language transformation. She referred to 2010 when the then MEC of Education Mr Mahlubandile Qwase requested permission from her to establish a language unit to do this important work. She supported the province then; fresh in office as a new Minister and she is now at the end of the 6th Administration; she expressed that “I am proud to have led the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) that approved all the Language Transformation agenda programs of the DBE’. She mentioned that it was the National Languages Framework (2013) that ensured the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) from Grade 1 in all schools that did not previously offer them; that had the catalysing effect to the commitment of the DBE to multilingualism. The establishment of a National Language Unit in 2022 was in compliance with the Use of Official Languages Act (2012) that all government departments must have Language Units to address language use in government. The Rapid Assessment was commissioned by her in 2023 to look into the reliability of the MTBBE prototype piloted in the EC and the readiness of all provinces to implement MTBBE as a next step. Minister Motshekga said the National Language Policy conference of July 2023 had clear recommendations that it was time to implement MTbBE beyond Grade 3 for the large majority of African language learners who are denied access to Home Language instruction at Grade 4, she reiterated that this is a benefit that only English and Afrikaans learners enjoy in the system from ECD to University. It was time to correct that anomaly, and the ECDoE had dared to show the world that it can be done.
When the DBE made history in 2020, with the first bilingual Grade 12 trial examinations in the Eastern Cape; it felt good and this seed planted by the people of the province has contributed to the upward trajectory of the province. It is now the only province in the country that offers bilingual Grade 12 Trial Examinations in isiXhosa and Sesotho for 6 subjects, including Mathematics and Physical Science.
Both Professor Leketi Makalela, the technical advisor to the DBE who did the Rapid Assessment and Dr Mbude-Mehana, the Deputy Director-General for Transformation Programmes, echoed that a key finding of the survey was that teachers were already using African languages to teach content subjects: “The only issue is assessment; and hence, the rollout of MTbBE is about widening access to the curriculum for all children, affirming that if children need their languages for learning, and be taught in their languages; they need their languages for assessment too”. Dr Mark Chetty, an assessment specialist at the DBE outlined the assessment regime for MTbBE that the rollout will entail for Grades 4 in 2025. For the first time in the history of South Africa in 30 years the DBE will set an assessment instrument that tracks performance in Mathematics using African Languages as Languages of Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LoLTA); a great milestone in the history of democracy for the country.
Moreover, Dr Mbude-Mehana underscored that, “the policy’s position is not only to focus on the home language, but to acquire bi/multilingualism, thus while learner’s home languages will be used as resources for learning, teaching and assessment, the acquisition of additional languages is equally important; that it the different between pure mother tongue education as we understand it in South Africa and true mother tongue based bilingual education. The aims are different; for too long we have had weak forms of mother tongue education in South Africa, whose aim was to protect mother tongue advantage for certain groups who had no desire to acquire African languages. In line with the spirit of the constitution that multilingualism is the norm; the education system must prepare children who are fluent in both their mother tongue as well as English and another language”. Education delivered at the expense of sacrificing the home languages of children; also sacrifices their identity and dignity.
Minister Motshekga announced that, “there will be a phased incremental implementation of MTbBE, targeting in Phase 1 mathematics and Natural Science and Technology in Grade 4, starting in 2025, incrementally going up until the end of primary school in 2028”. The Minister urged that we need African solutions for African problems; hence we used the 2021 PIRLS results to self-reflect. We have concluded that the reading problem is a language problem; using western logic to teach children to read in African languages is not working. She urged experts who have not yet made this important link to please journey with us. This is a journey where DBE needs everyone. It is a seismic shift that has never been done before; DBE started in 2023 to engage provinces, and DG Mweli has already started his provincial engagements in 2024 to get provinces to craft provincial readiness plans; the DBE team will provide support needed by individual provinces as the models to be used must take the provincial linguistic demographics into consideration; teacher availability and what resources provinces will require as they plan for 2025. She reiterated a theme, Bonke abantwana mabafunde throughout her speech; meaning all children have a right to learn (in their language). Details of the MTbBE strategy are available at the DBE and provinces must use the Language Unit as directed in the DG engagements to consult how the national number of 692,000 Grade 3s of 2024 will be saved from the Grade 4 slump and epistemic violence that they experience in Grade 4. 2025 will be a game changer to intentionally reduce the Grade 4 Matthew Effect impacting on the foundational literacy and numeracy of learners.