16 Jul 2013

Parliament has rejected a motion in which government was requested to introduce mother tongue languages as a medium of instruction in primary schools of communities where Setswana is a second language.

The mover of the motion, MP for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Gilson Saleshando had argued  that by introducing mother tongue languages as the medium of instruction in primary schools, education would be more inclusive.

Mr Saleshando said children from communities such as Bakalanga, Bakgalagadi, Basubiya and Bayei that did not speak Setswana as a first language must be taught in their indigenous language, adding that children understood and learned better when taught in their mother tongue.

When presenting the motion in April, Mr Saleshando had said the present practice where only English and Setswana were used as mediums of instruction marginalised speakers of minority languages.

He said this disadvantaged them in accessing opportunities, resources, employment and prevented them from participating in national political processes.

“Even the United Nations Education and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) had long advocated for the use of the students’ first language in education in its 1953 declaration,” he had said.

He further stated that renewal and revival of indigenous languages and their use as a medium of instruction enhanced children’s cognitive abilities and academic achievement.

“…teaching indigenous children in a language other than their mother tongue hinders  education and can be seen as genocide and a crime against humanity,” he had said.  ENDS