Department praises language ruling
5 October 2008, 12:10
Pressure on schools - many of them already struggling with scarce resources - to provide greater parity in language instruction has been increased by a judgment handed down by the Equality Court in Durban.
The court found this week that Durban High School had discriminated against a Grade 8 pupil in 2007 by offering him Zulu tuition only at the lowest language level (LLC3).
The school at the time offered English as a first language at LLC1 and Afrikaans at LLC2.
This was discriminatory, the court found, in that pupils whose home language was Afrikaans received a greater number of lessons at a higher level of tuition than those who were obliged to learn Zulu at the LLC3 level.
The court said the ideal was for DHS to offer Zulu at the highest level of tuition, but it stopped short of finding that the school should do so. The ideal standard, the judgment said, was one which "no school in this province or this country meets".
It added that a finding by the court that the school should meet this ideal would not, under the circumstances "serve any real lasting or worthwhile purpose".
But the judgment does paint a very clear picture of the need for more parity and this, said the national department of education, was fully in line with its own aims. The department added, however, that there were some huge obstacles to climb in parts of the country.
"We will be studying the judgment fully," said Director General of Education Duncan Hindle, "but on the first reading I don't take any issue with it. Our policy has always been to build a multilingual nation and this judgment is very much in line with what we want to do."
Hindle said his department would like to move faster in achieving this, but it was hampered by "resource constraints".
He said the problem was less intimidating in KwaZulu-Natal, where the population was largely homogeneous in speaking Zulu.
"It is a lot more complex in Gauteng, with all 11 official languages being used - and some unofficial ones as well."
Hindle said all schools were being encouraged to offer African languages, but in urban areas account had to be taken of the logistics involved.
"Teachers of African languages are also among our most scarce resources."
He said most schools offered the language of instruction at "level one".
Other languages, like Afrikaans in an English-language school, would be offered at a different level.
"We have expressed the view that every school should offer an African language at LLC2 level."
Schools should also work towards an ideal where they could offer more than one language at LLC1, he said.
His assurances about progress were repeated in KwaZulu-Natal, where Mbali Thusi, spokesperson for education MEC Ina Cronje, said every effort was being made to meet the language needs of the communities in the province.
Thusi said the number of high schools that offered Zulu at first language level now stood at 1 471, an increase of 176 since 2004.
"We are very proud of this achievement and it dispels the often-repeated myth that the status of Zulu is declining. The majority of schools in KwaZulu-Natal offer Zulu."
The department was also looking at the possibility of including tuition in Eastern languages in KwaZulu-Natal schools and providing more support for Xhosa.
In KwaZulu-Natal the overwhelming majority of school pupils spoke Zulu as their mother tongue, said the magistrate, J V Sanders, when presenting his "personal view" at the end of the judgment.
"The ideal of true, meaningful and lasting transformation in the area at which Zulu is taught at schools, is that every single school in this province should be fully equipped to offer Zulu at LLC1 level."
"It is my considered view that the day that Zulu is indeed offered at LLC1 level by all, or at least the vast majority of schools in KwaZulu-Natal, then genuine transformation in this area would have been achieved."
The court hearing followed a complaint by Ntombenhle Nkosi, who claimed the school was discriminating against her son and pursuing a policy of "subjugation of indigenous languages".
Nkosi, the chief executive of the Pan South African Language Board, claimed that the children at the school were being taught "kitchen Zulu".
The court ruled that her son's name must not be published.
The court found this week that Durban High School had discriminated against a Grade 8 pupil in 2007 by offering him Zulu tuition only at the lowest language level (LLC3).
The school at the time offered English as a first language at LLC1 and Afrikaans at LLC2.
This was discriminatory, the court found, in that pupils whose home language was Afrikaans received a greater number of lessons at a higher level of tuition than those who were obliged to learn Zulu at the LLC3 level.
The court said the ideal was for DHS to offer Zulu at the highest level of tuition, but it stopped short of finding that the school should do so. The ideal standard, the judgment said, was one which "no school in this province or this country meets".
It added that a finding by the court that the school should meet this ideal would not, under the circumstances "serve any real lasting or worthwhile purpose".
But the judgment does paint a very clear picture of the need for more parity and this, said the national department of education, was fully in line with its own aims. The department added, however, that there were some huge obstacles to climb in parts of the country.
"We will be studying the judgment fully," said Director General of Education Duncan Hindle, "but on the first reading I don't take any issue with it. Our policy has always been to build a multilingual nation and this judgment is very much in line with what we want to do."
Hindle said his department would like to move faster in achieving this, but it was hampered by "resource constraints".
He said the problem was less intimidating in KwaZulu-Natal, where the population was largely homogeneous in speaking Zulu.
"It is a lot more complex in Gauteng, with all 11 official languages being used - and some unofficial ones as well."
Hindle said all schools were being encouraged to offer African languages, but in urban areas account had to be taken of the logistics involved.
"Teachers of African languages are also among our most scarce resources."
He said most schools offered the language of instruction at "level one".
Other languages, like Afrikaans in an English-language school, would be offered at a different level.
"We have expressed the view that every school should offer an African language at LLC2 level."
Schools should also work towards an ideal where they could offer more than one language at LLC1, he said.
His assurances about progress were repeated in KwaZulu-Natal, where Mbali Thusi, spokesperson for education MEC Ina Cronje, said every effort was being made to meet the language needs of the communities in the province.
Thusi said the number of high schools that offered Zulu at first language level now stood at 1 471, an increase of 176 since 2004.
"We are very proud of this achievement and it dispels the often-repeated myth that the status of Zulu is declining. The majority of schools in KwaZulu-Natal offer Zulu."
The department was also looking at the possibility of including tuition in Eastern languages in KwaZulu-Natal schools and providing more support for Xhosa.
In KwaZulu-Natal the overwhelming majority of school pupils spoke Zulu as their mother tongue, said the magistrate, J V Sanders, when presenting his "personal view" at the end of the judgment.
"The ideal of true, meaningful and lasting transformation in the area at which Zulu is taught at schools, is that every single school in this province should be fully equipped to offer Zulu at LLC1 level."
"It is my considered view that the day that Zulu is indeed offered at LLC1 level by all, or at least the vast majority of schools in KwaZulu-Natal, then genuine transformation in this area would have been achieved."
The court hearing followed a complaint by Ntombenhle Nkosi, who claimed the school was discriminating against her son and pursuing a policy of "subjugation of indigenous languages".
Nkosi, the chief executive of the Pan South African Language Board, claimed that the children at the school were being taught "kitchen Zulu".
The court ruled that her son's name must not be published.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of The Sunday Tribune on October 05, 2008
Durban
