Chairperson, for me the study is very important for the reasons I have mentioned before. It is also important to educate other people who do not understand and value the importance of mother tongue instruction. At that level it is very important.
My personal view on the matter from past experience is that learners who performed well in our education system were learners who had the advantage of being taught in their mother tongue. So, it is very important to acknowledge that Afrikaans-speaking children were performing exceptionally well, English-speaking children were performing very well and that African children had to suffer alone. So, it very important that we get the statistics and educate our people about the value of mother tongue instruction.
I think it will radicalise our education system if we implement these policies. It is not a question of preserving Afrikaans or not. For me it is also to confirm that it is important to ensure that people appreciate the value of mother tongue instruction. We would not want, for instance, to destroy that which works during my term. It works to have people receive instruction in their languages. If the study will help us to maintain a situation where Afrikaans-speaking children are taught in Afrikaans, one does not want to break that which works. It works, so let us strengthen it.
I don't have any problems with whether or not we preserve Afrikaans, but I have an interest in ensuring that all children are given an opportunity to learn maximally in a language that enables them to reach their full potential. That is what the issue is to me; it is not about Afrikaans. It is about what is important to our children for them to acquire knowledge in the best language to enable them to reach their full potential, and that would be their mother tongue.
Plans for volunteer teachers teaching ABET for more than five years
25. Ms A C Mashishi (ANC) asked the Minister of Basic Education: What is the plan of her department for volunteer teachers who have been teaching adult basic education and training (ABET) for more than five years? NO1097E