Language priorities in South African schools demand grounded focus, not global distraction

Written by Gofaone Motsamai

South Africa’s recent contemplation of adding Kiswahili and Mandarin to the school curriculum reflects an ambition to foster Pan-African solidarity and strengthen global ties, particularly with China, its largest trade partner. But the question remains: can a public education system already under strain afford to introduce foreign languages before securing a solid foundation for its own?

The Department of Basic Education has justified the inclusion of Kiswahili as a gesture toward African unity, given its widespread use across East and Central Africa and its designation as an official African Union language. Mandarin, backed by strong economic reasoning, aligns with South Africa’s strategic alignment with China, which accounts for over 11% of its total trade volume, according to 2023 trade figures.

But these well-meaning efforts risk misfiring if introduced prematurely. South Africa’s Constitution recognises 11 official languages alongside South African Sign Language. Despite this, African languages such as isiZulu, Sepedi, and Setswana often suffer from marginalisation in education, law, and media. The transition from home language instruction in the early grades to English as the medium of instruction in later years remains one of the key challenges undermining learning outcomes. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021, 81% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language, a staggering statistic that underscores the depth of the problem.

Language policy in education is not a symbolic exercise. It requires infrastructure: trained teachers, quality materials, curriculum alignment, and long-term investment. South Africa is still developing these for its own official languages. As seen in Namibia’s 2019 effort to introduce Kiswahili into schools, a plan rooted in African solidarity, the initiative failed due to a lack of institutional capacity and was eventually sidelined. Symbolic policy alone does not result in classroom success.

Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, a fierce advocate for indigenous languages, reminds us: “If you know your mother tongue, add it to all other languages, that is empowerment.” His statement speaks to sequence and structure, beginning at home and then expanding outward.

South Africa has made progress in promoting indigenous languages through curriculum reform, academic publishing, community radio, and digital initiatives. But these gains remain uneven and underfunded. Diverting attention and limited resources toward foreign language implementation, however politically or economically strategic, may dilute the momentum of these critical domestic efforts.

This is not a rejection of Kiswahili or Mandarin in education. There is room for foreign languages, particularly at the tertiary level or in specialised subjects such as international relations and diplomacy. But their introduction must not come at the expense of ensuring that all South African learners can think, reason, and succeed in their languages first.

Empowerment begins not with reaching outward, but by first investing into the languages that shape identity, culture, and learning from the ground up. Only then can learners step into the world with confidence, not just speaking global languages but standing firmly in their own.

Gofaone Motsamai is a postgraduate student at the Indigenous Language Media in Africa (ILMA) Research Focus Area at North-West University.