Language shake-up looms for Vanderbijlpark schools
“We need to make sure that those schools should start a process of changing their curriculum. The curriculum must align with the pupils that are attending those schools. It can no longer be compulsory for a child to be forced to do Afrikaans,” said NASGB Secretary.
VANDERBIJLPARK – The battle for language transformation in schools, particularly in Vanderbijlpark, has officially begun. This comes after the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) called for language change, demanding that Afrikaans no longer be compulsory for teaching and learning.
The association further called for more African languages to be introduced in schools such as Driehoek, Suiderlig Oospark, and Noordhoek, among many others.
Speaking to Ster South, the regional secretary of the NASGB, Thabiso Radebe, said most schools in town are now 99% black, but the transformation is being blocked.
“There’s been a great migration of learners to Vanderbijlpark schools. Most schools are now predominately black, with a percentage of about 99%, yet there is a big challenge when it comes to transformation,” he said.
Radebe said schools must immediately start working on changing their curriculums, guided by the new Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act.
“Most of these schools are resisting a call for transformation. We as the NASGB want to put it on record that, guided by the Bela Act, as soon the ACT comes into place, we want to make a call to all the SGBs across the region to make sure that language is changed.”
“We need to make sure that those schools should start a process of changing their curriculum. The curriculum must align with the pupils that are attending those schools. It can no longer be compulsory for a child to be forced to do Afrikaans,” he said.
Radebe made it clear that parents and pupils must have a say in what languages are taught.
“These schools must understand that we have 11 official languages including sign language. If a school with enough learners and the parents are of the view that the school must introduce Sesotho or IsiZulu, then the schools must introduce those languages because that is allowed by law,” he said.
NASGB is now putting pressure on School Governing Bodies (SGBs) to act fast and start changing curriculums before the BELA Act is fully implemented.
“SGBs must start attending to issues so that parents’ views are not suppressed when it comes to curriculum issues. The curriculum must be informed by the school community. We can’t teach French in a school without French-speaking pupils,” said Radebe
