Hon Speaker, the Department of Basic Education encourages the use of mother tongue instruction - where learners learn in their home language - during the foundation phase.
In this regard the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements are made available in all languages. The provision of learning and teaching support material on the National Catalogue is also made available in all languages in the Foundation Phase.
The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements for the intermediate, senior and the further education and training, FET, phases for content subjects will be made available in all languages, to bring the content subjects in line with the incremental introduction of African languages, where African languages will be used as languages of teaching and learning. The incremental introduction of African languages would then invite non- African learners to also learn an African language.
Furthermore, the Department of Basic Education is planning to establish a language unit as per stipulation, or as suggested or alluded to by the hon Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, in terms of the South African Languages Bill as well as the SA Language Practitioners' Council Bill.
Amongst other things, the language unit will be responsible for the development of relevant African language terminology for all content subjects, which will enable our learners to access knowledge and skills in these subjects more effectively and with greater understanding, since it will be offered in their mother tongue.
For the benefit of the House, we may mention that the institutions of higher education - universities - have also taken it upon themselves to develop languages. For example, the University of KwaZulu-Natal is developing isiZulu, the University of Pretoria is developing the Pedi language, the University of the North West is developing Setswana and the University of the Free State is developing the Sotho language.
This is a process, and, as a result of a discussion with Higher Education and Training and the Higher Education South Africa, Hesa, component, this particular aspiration for the parity of languages and the development of languages will see the light.
We want to caution that we cannot introduce - even though it is available, and is in fact policy for the foundation phase - teaching to take place in the mother tongue. We cannot compel learners to go beyond that because it requires the requisite resources and the requisite skills for an educator to teach in another language. In recognition of the fact that learners can speak their mother tongue as well as English in general, a further additional language is being supported from Grade 1.
With regard to the second part of the question, the Department of Basic Education is working closely with key education stakeholders, including unions, school governing body associations, universities, NGOs and other departments, such as the Department of Arts and Culture.
All stakeholders contribute within their areas of expertise. Unions and universities have assisted with the workbook project. There are 54 million workbooks in all 11 official languages that will be distributed during this year.
We can also indicate that the Departments of Arts and Culture and Basic Education are in discussion with regard to the libraries that have to be provided to schools and communities, and the books in the different indigenous languages. I thank you, hon Speaker.
Speaker, I want to thank the hon Deputy Minister for his response. The Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, in collaboration with the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa, yesterday presented research work on African languages in schools.
Hon Deputy Minister, my question to you is whether you will consider implementing the mother tongue-based, bilingual education programme as promoted and researched by these two bodies and, just in case you do not want to implement that model - which we think is a very good and a very well-researched model - I would like to know what else you have in mind as a workable solution? Thank you.
Hon Speaker, the hon Smiles would know that we have always advocated the promotion of multilingual education and not of bilingual education. We are a diverse nation that speaks many languages and we think that multilingualism should be at the heart of our endeavours.
We will certainly take note of the HSRC's research and report. We certainly are, and have always been of the view - that is why we have mother tongue language in the foundation phase - that mother tongue instruction contributes to the conceptual and cognitive development of learners, especially in the early years.
We are also saying that we are endeavouring to introduce indigenous languages incrementally and progressively in our schools, because not only would this make our learners more in tune with our diversity, but it will also contribute, in a very significant way, to social cohesion, as language is a bridge to other communities. For that reason we will work very closely ...
Will the hon members who are standing up there for no reason at all please take their seats. The noise level is very high in the House. Continue, hon Deputy Minister.
Thank you for your intervention, hon Speaker. What we are saying is that for the purposes of social cohesion and for the celebration of our diversity as South Africans it is very critical that we promote our indigenous languages as far as possible.
We will do so in a responsible way, on the basis of language and teacher development that is in step with what we are offering, in order to ensure that the learners will qualitatively not be at a disadvantage, given the realities and complexities of language. In fact, one of the hon members from the other side spoke about the lexicon and terminology in different languages which is a deficit as we speak right now. Thank you, hon Speaker.
Basis on which agreement was concluded between MEC for Education in Eastern Cape and SADTU
58. Mr D C Smiles (DA) asked the Minister of Basic Education:
Whether she relied on section 100(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, when she concluded an agreement between the Member of the Executive Council for Education in the Eastern Cape and the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) on 8 February 2012; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?