Chiefs summon Coltart

The Chronicle

Chronicle Reporter

22 March 2013

 

Chiefs from minority language-speaking communities yesterday summoned the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart to a meeting to complain over the treatment of their languages at schools.

The Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages  Promotion Association (ZILPA) coordinated the closed door indaba in Bulawayo, where chiefs from Sotho, Tonga, Nambya, Venda, Shangani and Kalanga speaking communities presented their concerns to Minister Coltart and his directors.

In separate interviews after the meeting, the chiefs said they were angered by a circular from the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec), which they felt downplayed the teaching of their languages.

Item 7(a) of Zimsec Circular 1 of 2013, which was shown to the Chronicle, states that Grade 7 candidates should register a minimum of four core subjects and a maximum of five subjects including one national language between Shona and IsiNdebele.

According to the circular, other minority languages are treated as optional.

“The core issue about this meeting was the Zimsec circular which compelled our children to write examinations on other languages than their own.”

“We want our mother languages to be given prominence first and others could be optional,” said Chief Siansali of Binga.

“Even in Government offices we want people who speak the local language in our communities. We need our language to preserve our culture.”

The chiefs demanded that the Government reverses the circular and ensure that their languages were given equal treatment with other languages.

“We are not happy with the Zimsec circular and that is why we are here. We want our childrent to write examinations on their mother language,” said Chief Tshovani of Chiredzi.

“We had a good meeting with the Minister and he promised us that the circular would be reversed. In Chiredzi we want our children to be taught Shangani at school and not Shona.”

The chiefs urged the Government to deploy qualified educational officers who would effectively teach minority languages in their schools.

They called for affirmative action in the training of teachers, saying pupils from their communities should be enrolled at colleges even with lower passes.

The traditional leaders also sought clarity as to why there were delays in the publication of minority languages’ textbooks and learning material.

ZILPA chairperson Mrs Maretha Dube said the issue of languages should be handled properly as it impacts an individual’s sense of identity.

“What worries us most is the imposition of teaching of other languages in our own communities when our own languages are not taught in other areas.”

“Language is the carrier of culture and identity and pupils should be taught their mother language.”

“It is surprising that when we presented our concerns to the Minister, he professed ignorance on some of the issues,” said Dube.

“However we are happy with the outcome of the meeting.”

“Our goal is to uplift respect for marginalized indigenous languages in schools and in the provision of key services such as hospitials.”

In his presentation after the meeting, Minister Coltart said the Government appreciated the chiefs’ concerns and pledged to address them.

He said his ministry was going to conduct investigations into the concerns raised and the Government had enough funding to publish textbooks on minority languages.

Minister Coltart said Nambya and Venda languages would be examined at Grade Seven level this year.

He said his aim was to ensure that all minority languages were taught at all levels in schools up to tertiary level.

Minister Coltart said the promotion of minority languages was in line with the provisions of the new constitution, which calls for equal treatment of all languages.

“The new constitution places obligation on the Government to treat all languages equally. The problem is we do not have teachers for those subjects.”

“We also do not have a sufficient number of students form these communities who are qualified to enroll in our colleges,” said Minister Coltart.

“There is a need for us to have affirmative action that will allow pupils from marginalized language communities to enroll in colleges even if they have low academic qualifications.”

“Such students will be able to go back to their communities and help improve standards. The Cabinet, my ministry and related ministries need to do something about this.”

On the Zimsec circular, Minister Coltart said he had engaged officials from the examinations body and announced that its initial provision on minority languages had been reversed.

Speaking at the same occasion, Matabeleland North provincial education director Mrs Boitathelo Mnguni said examinations on the Tonga language, which were introduced last year, were done successfully and the pass rate was impressive.

“More than 4 000 pupils wrote Tonga examinations last year and only one third wrote IsiNdebele. The pass rate for Tonga was above 78 percent,” she said.

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