Staff Reporter
The Department of Basic Education said on Saturday it is expanding Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTbBE), warning that fewer than a quarter of South Africans can access sustained mother tongue education beyond Grade 3.
The department made the remarks in a statement commemorating International Mother Language Day.
“Fewer than a quarter of South Africans, primarily English and Afrikaans speakers, are able to access sustained mother-tongue education beyond Grade 3”, it said, while learners whose home languages are African indigenous languages are often required to transition prematurely to English or Afrikaans as languages of learning and teaching.
“Extensive local and international research confirms what communities have long understood: children learn best in the language they know best,” it said, adding that “learners require at least six to eight years of strong mother-tongue instruction to transition successfully to additional languages used for learning.”
The department said it has expanded MTbBE since a pilot began in the Eastern Cape in 2012.
It said that learners taught in their home languages “have demonstrated improved performance in key subjects, including Mathematics and Natural Sciences”.
It said that the phased expansion of MTbBE, including the 2025 rollout to Grade 4, with maths exams offered nationally in a bilingual paper for the first time, was a significant milestone.
The aim was to “restore dignity to African languages, dismantling historical inequalities, and ensuring that our linguistic heritage becomes an asset in the knowledge economy”.
The department said “the success of this programme depends on strong partnerships,” acknowledging educators, school governing bodies, language practitioners, community leaders and others.
It said digital resources, including multilingual learning materials and innovative tools, were expanding access and supporting teachers in the classroom.
“As we mark this important day, we call on parents, communities, and stakeholders to support mother-tongue based education and to recognise its long-term benefits for learners and for our country,” it said.
INSIDE EDUCATION
