Basic Education Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekga, launched the Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) Strategy during the International Mother Tongue Day celebrations in the Eastern Cape Province on 21 February 2024, pronouncing that the DBE will embark on fully-fledged community advocacy.
The DBE’s National Language Unit (NLU) under the leadership of the Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Transformation Programmes, Dr Naledi Mbude-Mehana, as well as the supporting DBE directorates, commenced with visits to communicate the message to various stakeholders in provinces as from January 2024.
The MTbBE Campaign took place at Motheo TVET College, National Artisan Academy in Bloemfontein in the Free State Province on 21 May 2024. The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga and Free State Education MEC, Mr Makalo Mohale, addressed education stakeholders on the developments regarding the MTbBE Strategy.
The NLU is tasked with promoting and facilitating the use of African Languages as languages of learning, teaching and assessment (LoLTA) of non-language subjects beyond Grade 3. The DBE will embark on phased-implementation starting with 2 subjects, Mathematics and Natural Science and Technology, going up each year per cohort until learners reach Grade 7. This is a five-year plan, wherein after this period, the system will evaluate the impact and add more subjects. MTbBE is an overarching anchor of basic education on the home languages of learners, whilst they are taught additional languages as well. The 2025 implementation will target schools which switch to English LoLTA in Grade 4. These learners suffer the most in their education journey and the assessment data at the DBE points to a large gap in achievement for learners who change the medium of instruction in Grade 4 as compared to those who do not i.e. English and Afrikaans learners. This gap widens each year and it must be closed.
In her address at the campaign launch, Dr Mbude-Mehana emphasized the concept of epistemic access as the recognition of the value of a child's pre-existing knowledge and experiences when entering the educational environment. She underscored the early development of a child's mother tongue, stating that language acquisition commences in utero and that infants exhibit heightened attentiveness when exposed to their mother's speech; schooling must maintain this innate gift. Furthermore, Dr Mbude-Mehana advocated that the adoption of MTbBE places emphasis on the utilization of learners' home languages as educational assets. She distinguished between Mother Tongue Education and Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education, highlighting the latter's deliberate integration of language resources from the home environment into the learning process whilst acquiring English. It is not either the home language or English; it is both the home language and English. It is called child-centred education; where the learner wins. She cautioned, however, that while MTbBE holds significance for positive education outcomes for all learners, its successful implementation necessitates consistent and purposeful support.
The Provincial Language Unit in the Eastern Cape has achieved significant milestones since its inception in 2010 by piloting MTbBE. These include the development of workbooks for Mathematics and Science in isiXhosa and Sesotho for learning, teaching and assessment (LOLTA) beyond Grade 3 as part of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) by the DBE. This is the only province in the country where learners in Grade 12, are afforded bilingual question papers for the September Trial examinations. The qualitative upward trajectory in the Eastern Cape province shows a return on investment in MTbBE. This prototype will be rolled out to the rest of the country.
In her address to stakeholders, Minister Motshekga underscored her commitment to achieving parity of esteem for all official languages. She articulated the need for their utilization not only as subjects, but also as mediums for the instruction, acquisition of knowledge and evaluation of Mathematics, Science, and Technology beyond Grade 3 from 2025. Minister Motshekga announced that, “January 2025 will mark the year we begin to fulfil this constitutional obligation incrementally. This means this cohort of learners will write their first Mathematics, Science and Technology National Qualifications Framework Level 1 General Education Certificate in 2030 having gone through MTbBE. Bonke abantwana mabafunde, let all children learn”.