Education Policy Thinktank, Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), has restated its position on the need to remove economic barriers to teenage mothers’ re-entry into school. This was expressed in a submission to the visiting British Prime Minister’s Special Envoyson Girls Education and Gender Equality, and the Minister of Education at the British Council on Monday 17th May 2021.

The Ghana Health Service recently reported 110,000 teenage pregnancy cases in 2020, with about 3,000 aged between 10 and 14 years. Eduwatch estimates 15 per cent to affect Basic and Secondary school students, with the remaining being Pre-COVID out-of-school teenagers. The removal of barriers to re-entry will complement the awareness creation and psycho-social support being provided by the Ghana Education Service and Civil Society.

Eduwatch recommends that, providing targeted economic support similar to what countries like South Africa does, could help remove financial barriers to re-enrolment and improve the prospects for re-schooling.

While several Civil Society Organizations may have piloted schemes to provide material support for these girls, the thinktank believes it is time to initiate discussions around identifying and scaling up successful models, and the Global Education Summit scheduled for June this year in the UK, presents an ideal opportunity for African governments to actualisetheir commitments to ensuring that all girls, especially pregnant school girls and teen mothers, re-enrol and complete the full cycle of basic and secondary education by 2030.

Source: Africa Education Watch

The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Mr. Kofi Asare, has advised Government to restructure the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) to reduce financial barriers at the tertiary education level. This, he says will enhance the purpose of the system.

These comments come in light of complaints of delayed payments of students' loans, with most payments being issued at the end of the academic year. First year students who find themselves in such situations often fail to honour their admissions while some continuing students drop out, which according to Mr. Asare, defeats the purpose of the SLFT.

He was addressing a public forum organized by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and Citi FM/Citi TV on the theme "Reducing barriers to accessing education in Ghana."

According to him, the SLTF is supposed to provide financial support for prospective students to honor their admissions, and cushion continuing students to remain in school. "At the end of the last academic year for instance, the SLTF was in arrears of over GHC 10 million, meaning that students who were relying on the loan while in school, would have dropped out or had to borrow money at higher interest rates to survive in school", he stated.

Government has announced a guarantor-free student’s loan which means students would not require guarantors to apply for students’ loan, however, Mr. Asare notes that the key issue surrounding financial barriers to tertiary education is primarily the delays in the release of the student loans, and not necessarily the presence of a guarantor. “Even though the guarantor is important, what is key to removing financing access barriers is ensuring that the funds arrive on time so that prospective students who have admissions can use their admission letters to access the loan to pay their fees and become students, because without honouring their admissions they cannot become students to further enjoy a guarantor-free loan”, he added.

Making recommendations on the way forward, the Executive Director of Eduwatch said the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission should work out a formula or an arrangement where students upon receiving their admission letters, can use their letters as collateral to obtain a guaranteed admission at the university, so that when the loan is ready, the SLTF will pay to the university directly.

He explained that the current financing arrangement where the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) provides funding for the SLTF is not sustainable. The SLTF law proposes that up to 10 per cent of GETFund resources should be used to fund the SLTF, and because no ceiling is mentioned, most often, only 1-2 per cent of funds get directed into the SLTF. This, according to Mr. Asare has led to inadequate funding, which is the major challenge faced by the SLTF, and one of the main reasons for the delay in payments, because until the SLTF recovers some loans from debtors, they are unable to pay new applicants. “Even at a recovery rate of 65 per cent presently, the SLTF still struggles to pay student loans on time with most payments made at the end of the academic year, suggesting that though the 65per cent recovery rate is considerably good, it is still not enough to distribute money to students”, he explained.

With the introduction of a guarantor-free system, the Education Consultant added that the loan recovery rate will reduce since most students who would be expected to pay their student loans after completing school will not be compelled to do so, because there is no condition for the monies to be deducted from their guarantors' SSNIT contributions. This, according to him will further reduce the repayment or recovery rate considerably, because students will only start paying the loans when they get a job, and no more from a guarantors' account after five (5) years of completion.

He further recommended that, with the introduction of the guarantor-free system, we need to increase the financing of the SLTF from the GETFund and cap it at 10 per cent instead of leaving it at a maximum of 10 per cent. "This is the only way we can be assured of a consistent financing mechanism for the SLTF, otherwise the students’ loan will collapse with the introduction of a guarantor-free system, and keep disbursing loans at the end of the academic year when students would have already been denied admission or dropped out", he said.

In the case of continuing students, Mr. Asare recommended that there must be a similar loan arrangement between students and university authorities, where fees owed by students will be credited against their loans, so that when loan payments are disbursed, they would be paid directly to the university to prevent students from being denied the opportunity to write exams when they are indeed expecting students’ loans that have genuinely delayed. This he said will ensure that the impact of delays in payment will not cause barriers of access to the students.

The forum was also attended by dignitaries including Mrs. Joyce Larnyoh (Chairperson for the CSOs Platform on SDG4), Mr. Michael Nsowah (former Director General of GES), and Hon. Amankwa Asiamah (Chairman of the Education Committee of Parliament) who raised various concerns regarding the inequitable access at various levels of education in the country, and agreed to the need for urgent restructuring to improve access in our education delivery system in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Source: Africa Education Watch

A delegation from Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch) and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) have paid a courtesy call on the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education. The delegation comprised Kofi Asare (Executive Director, Eduwatch), Dr. Kojo Asante Pumpuni (Head of Advocacy, CDD) and Paul Osei Kufuor (Senior Programme Officer, CDD).

The purpose of the visit was to welcome him as the head of the new Education Committee in Parliament and express our commitment to working with the committee to influence education policy and strengthen accountability.

The team also took the opportunity to share a Joint Paper developed by Eduwatch and CDD on issues that require attention and admission at the basic education level in the next four years, which included increased investment in rural basic school infrastructure, teacher rationalization, redesign and innovation in school infrastructure architecture for cost efficiency, and systemic pro-equity reforms in education financing.

The Chairman of the Committee was appreciative of the visit and assured of his support and willingness to work with Civil Society Organizations to strengthen oversight and quality in our education system, especially in the area of teacher deployment and teacher welfare, which have a direct bearing on quality.

A meeting with the entire Committee is scheduled for 31st May 2021.

Source: Africa Education Watch

Perform Ghana, a subsidiary of Africa Education Watch in collaboration with the Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Community Trust Fund, has undertaken a one-week Needs Analysis Training with persons in the leather, beads, and fashion industry at Obuasi. This collaboration is part of the Community Economic Empowerment Project.

The Community Economic Empowerment Project is a one-year project which involves skills development in leatherwork, bead craft and commercial sewing for the youth in Obuasi, Adansi North, and Amansie Central. The Project aims to contribute towards the reduction of unemployment among the youth through the development of skills, to create employment opportunities in districts impacted by mining activities.

The project will also involve the setting up of Master Facility Training Centers and Production Units, Business facilitation, and outsourcing to local enterprises. The Perform Group will be providing consultancy services in skills and business development for the project.

World Bank recently reported that in 2020, the unemployment rate in Ghana was approximately 4.51 per cent, a 1.8 per cent increase from 2019. Thus, the Community Economic Empowerment Project aims to help ease this situation in the selected communities.

Source: Africa Education Watch

The June 2021 Zimsec public examinations for both O and A-Levels have been cancelled following disruptions caused by Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown with those who had wanted to sit in June now joining the large majority who are being prepared to sit in November.

Other Covid-19 related measures announced yesterday include new higher-security vaccination certificates to prevent forgeries and permission for casinos to reopen under strict rules.

The decision to suspend the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council June examinations arose from the delays in sitting the public examinations at the end of last year and the alterations of the standard calendar for education this year caused by schools having to be closed for the first two and half months of this year to combat the second wave of infections.

Logistics will be put in place to ensure candidates who originally wanted to sit their examinations in June do so together with other students in November, as Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said after a recent Cabinet meeting.

"Cabinet considered and approved a request for the suspension of the Zimsec June 2021 Ordinary and Advanced Level examination sessions, which was presented by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education."

"Cabinet was advised that the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020 had negatively impacted on the timing and cycle of public examinations, with the 2020 Grade 7, O-Level and A-Level examinations having commenced in early December 2020 and ended in early February 2021, instead of the usual period stretching from October to November of each year," she said.

"The delay in writing and the marking of the previous examinations has affected the preparation and the setting of the next examination hence the decision to temporarily suspend the June 2021 examinations. This suspension of the June 2021 examination session will allow for timely focus on the November examination preparations and aid an effective focus of resources," said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Government was also continuing with its delicate process of allowing more social contact without risking a spike in Covid-19 infections.

Yesterday, Minister Mutsvangwa announced the re-opening of casinos under strict containment measures, and those found wanting risk losing their licenses.

"Cabinet informs the nation that henceforth, casinos will be allowed to re-open with strict observance of Covid-19 guidelines. Those found disregarding the guidelines will have their licenses revoked. Casinos have been closed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020," said Minister Mutsvangwa.

Minister Mutsvangwa also announced the heightened security features on the Covid-19 vaccination card to get rid of counterfeits now in circulation.

The vaccination card will be manufactured in liaison with Fidelity Printers and the Registrar Generals' Office.

"The Card, to be printed by Fidelity Printers, will bear the following features: invisible coat of arms, which shines under UV lightening, fluorescent numbering, water-marked security paper, micro text underground and guilloche pattern.

"Government will leave no stone unturned in apprehending greedy malcontents bent on tampering with the security features of the vaccination cards," warned Minister Mutsvangwa.

She also announced that 133,992 people had received their first dose and 23,432 their second dose as of April 6.

"In a bid to promote use of all official languages, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services embarked on a project to produce and package jingles and skits for fostering social coherence, national culture and development.

"At the end of the sixth (100-day) cycle, four Kalanga, four Venda and four Ndebele Covid-19 radio skits had been produced. Furthermore, eight Shona, five Ndebele, four English and one Chewa video skits were produced and aired to the public."

Minister Mutsvangwa also announced efforts to improve vulnerable communities' access to information, through establishing Community Information Centres (CICs) in 10 selected areas during the sixth 100-day cycle.

"By the end of the cycle, all the ten CICs had been established, set up and operationalised at Buli High School, Esigodini Post Office, Zengeza Post Office, Kambuzuma Post Office, Filabusi Post Office, Northend Post Office, Belmont Post Office, Matabisa Post Office, Juliasdale Mission Hospital and Hatfield Post Office," she said.

Source: The Herald/Zimbabwe

A ghost school exposed in a parliamentary report last week is among four institutions a publisher could not trace in 2018, giving a glimpse into how long corrupt education officials have been stealing public funds using fictitious schools.

The publisher who had been contracted to supply books reported to the Education ministry in 2018 that they could not trace the four schools on the ground even after making enquiries to local education officials. It is unclear whether action was ever taken on that expose, but the matter has only come public this month following an investigation by a parliamentary watchdog that exposed how a rogue official stole free education cash channeled to one of the fictitious schools- Mundeku Secondary School in Kakamega.

The Nation has established that in 2018, Mundeku Secondary School was among other bogus schools in the ministry records. Other schools flagged included Belgut Kaptugen Starehe Boys in Belgut Sub-county, Kericho County (152 students), Ikonge DEB in Kisii Central, Kisii County (448 students) and Dol Dol Boys in Laikipia North, Laikipia County (64 students). The three however, did not feature in the parliamentary report.

A list given to publishers to supply books to schools under the Secondary Quality Improvement Programme (SEQIP), for example indicated that Mundeku had an enrolment of 1,188 students. Such high enrolment numbers are usually registered in national and a few extra-county schools. Considering that the government allocates Sh22,244 per learner in secondary school, the money lost to the rogue official could be more. The auditor had actually put the figure at Sh27,329,598.95 before the ministry submitted the lesser figure.

Theft of Billions

The failure by the Ministry of Education to fully migrate to the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) is now blamed for the theft of billions of taxpayers' money pocketed by corrupt officials and school heads, according to the report by the Public Accounts Committee.

The Public Accounts Committee Report on the Examination of the Auditor-General's Report on the Financial Statements for the National Government for the Financial Year 2017/2018, shows that lack of accurate data on learners has led to loss of the money through manipulation of data. In one extreme and daring case, a former clerical officer at the directorate of education offices in Kakamega County listed a non-existent school in the disbursement schedule through which he would receive funds.

The report also noted that another officer had been interdicted for inflating the enrolment data for 185 schools, resulting in the overpayment of Sh269,254,288. The cases have been referred to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigation. The report was tabled before Parliament last week by the chair of the committee, Opiyo Wandayi.

To stop the pilferage, (but unconnected to the report) school heads were given up to last Thursday to register all learners in the NEMIS. Head teachers and Education officials have over the years taken advantage of loopholes in data management to steal money from public coffers.

"The ministry has been using a computer programme that heavily relies on manual input of school data into the programme by officers from MoE headquarters to disburse funds to primary schools. This mode of payment has been prone to errors," the Principal Secretary for Early Learning and Basic Education, Dr. Julius Jwan, said in the circular on registration into NEMIS. Only learners who appear on NEMIS will receive the government capitation funds.

Lack of birth certificates have previously been cited as a hindrance to the registration but Dr Jwan clarified that even learners without the document will be captured on the system.

"We have challenges especially in the rural areas where some parents don't submit the information we ask for. Also, the system is not friendly when a learner transfers to another school and sometimes you find their details in about three schools," said a head teacher who requested anonymity. He added that some of his colleagues also have technological challenges using the system.

Identified a Loophole

In the Kakamega case, the clerical officer identified a loophole in the government system for disbursing funds to schools and registered Mundeku Secondary School. He then opened an account at Equity Bank through which he would receive the money.

The PAC report shows that the man fraudulently received Sh11,131,305.53. It, however, does not state how long the 'school' was in government records and how it avoided the detection by auditors.

Late last year, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha put the money lost yearly through manipulation of student numbers at Sh752,594,740. He also said that the ministry had established that enrolment had been inflated by 529,997. He however, did not say how long this had been going on.

"Due diligence identified an inflation of numbers of learners from 8.47 million to 9 million learners. The shortfall of 529,997 learners has led to the saving of Ksh752,594,740 annually," Prof Magoha said. This is the figure in the latest edition of the Basic Education Statistical Booklet.

When then Education CS Fred Matiang'i launched the NEMIS in 2017, the objective was for it to be "the single source of truth for information for the Kenyan education system (schools, learners and facilities)." It was designed to "provide quality data that is reliable, relevant, and easily accessible."

In 2019, the EACC reported that it was investigating the possible embezzlement of Sh10 billion from the FPE programme. In its 2017/18 report (Inquiry Number: EACC/FI/ INQ/89/2017), the commission investigated allegations of irregularities in procurement of textbooks for public schools using FPE funds. According to multiple sources, cartels capitalise on the data gaps to inflate the enrolment and thereafter make fictitious claims.

Billions of shillings were lost even before NEMIS was introduced. In June 2011, an audit report by the National Treasury exposed massive corruption in the FPE where Sh4.2 billion was reported to have been lost since 2005. The report was handed over to investigators by President Uhuru Kenyatta when he was the minister for Finance. Over 100 people were said to have been under investigations but no convictions were made.

Source: allafrica.com

There are over one billion people in Africa, yet there are only 2,000 colleges and universities. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30, but only seven per centof Africans enrol in tertiary education.

Tertiary education is essential however, the continent faces a number of challenges that must be addressed if it is to truly educate - and empower - the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) leaders.

Here are seven ideas on what can be done to improve STEM education across Africa.

1. Create centres of excellence

Resources in many of Africa’s universities are already overstretched, and covering a wide range of subjects does little to help the situation. Centres of excellence can provide leadership, best practices and research, among others, in a specific field. This allows institutions to focus their resources on a handful of key areas, and the pooled funding results in better resources and improved facilities. By addressing regional challenges these centres can establish a sustainable business model, and their graduates can have a direct impact on improving their local community.

"Governments need to invest in education and create a legislative framework, which allows tertiary education, particularly in STEM subjects, to prosper."
Sarah Hambly, Planet Earth Institute

The Institute of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin has done just this. The institution’s mission is to equip Africa with young scientists who can become future teachers in the field, to promote cooperation and partnerships in research and training within the continent, to prevent scientists from leaving the continent and contributing to so-called ‘brain drain’.

2. Keep improving digital technology

Technological advances have had a huge impact on learning across Africa. Online learning platforms, including mass open online courses, or MOOCs, have the potential to revolutionise education, with students able to access high quality learning materials regardless of their geographic location, if they can connect to the internet.

Rethink, an e-learning start up created in South Africa in 2012, illustrates how effective these platforms can be. It can be accessed on any device and uses multimedia elements such as videos and interactive questions. Rethink also aims to provide quality education while removing the usual barriers, such as cost and location.

3. Improve links with tech hubs

Tech hubs in Africa have been popping up at a considerable rate, and in all corners of the continent. According to Disrupt Africa, there could be as many as 300 tech hubs by the end of 2016.

Habaka, in Madagascar, offers training, working spaces and events – and runs the Coderdojo programme, an international ‘coding club’ to teach those aged between 7 and 17 years old.

Meanwhile, Malawi's mHub focuses on developing young technology entrepreneurs and has set itself the target of enlisting and training 5,000 youngsters by 2019.

The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Ghana runs a programme which takes top graduates from local universities and provides them with a fully sponsored, intensive two-year programme, including how to run a technology business.

4. Measure performance and labour markets

For education to be effective, institutions should regularly monitor and evaluate their programmes. Information about the local labour market should be used to determine the needs of local regions and the relevance of the institution’s curriculum in being able to meet these demands.

Meanwhile, regular inspection of other standards can ensure universities are maintaining a high level of quality and efficiency. There are a number of organisations in Africa that gather data which can be used by universities, enabling them to effectively evaluate their programmes without putting a huge burden on their already limited resources.

The African Capacity Building Foundation is one such organisation, which works with a number of multilateral partners, African and non-regional partners to provide capacity building data. This ‘knowledge hub’ publishes and disseminates regular reports on the state of play across the continent. Resources such as this can help universities and other educational institutions to tailor their programmes to the needs of specific regions and sectors, without having to do the groundwork themselves.

5. Increase links to private sector

The Planet Earth Institute’s chairman, Álvaro Sobrinho, has stressed the need for universities to work with the private sector. Given that the private sector is the continent’s main source of job creation, it could help universities to establish how best to equip Africa’s youth with the skills needed to enter the work place.

"Resources in many of Africa’s universities are already stretched, and covering a wide range of subjects does little to help the situation."
Sarah Hambly, Planet Earth Institute

An example of a partnership in action is that of Hecate Energy Africa and two universities in Tanzania. The company has joined with the University of Dodoma and the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology to implement undergraduate and graduate programmes in the field of renewable energy. The aim of this collaboration is to increase access to clean and reliable power in Tanzania, and the wider region, and it will harness the talents of their students to do so.

6. Link education and job creation

It is also necessary to ensure that millions of young people who do complete tertiary education are incentivised to remain on the continent to ensure science-led development, rather than contributing to the 'brain drain'.

Burkina Faso's 2iE International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering understands the importance of a student’s return on investment, and says more than 95 per cent of its students find a job within six months of graduating. The institution attributes this to the quality of their programmes, strong partnerships with companies, human resources and the aim to offer solutions to the continent's challenges. By getting this right, they are creating a successful and sustainable model.

7. Take risks

The stakes for Africa are high. For the continent to prosper, it is essential that 'Generation Science' – the generation empowered by an understanding and appreciation of science and technology – succeeds so young people can harness STEM skills to overcome the many challenges facing the region.

Speaking in 2013, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said: "We must go beyond universal education and focus on higher education, science and technology, and innovation, for both young women and men. If we invest enough in the young population we have, this population will be one of the drivers for the future of the continent. But if we do not invest in the youth, they will be our greatest liability."

For Africa to succeed, the brightest young students need to be given opportunities. Governments need to invest in education and create a legislative framework, which allows tertiary education, particularly in STEM subjects, to prosper.

If equipped with the right skills, especially in the STEM fields, Africa’s increasing youth can continue to innovate their way into a sustainable, science-led and bright tomorrow.

The writer, Sarah Hambly, is Communication Manager at Planet Earth Institute; an international non-profit organisation and charity working for scientific independence of Africa.

Source: scidev.net

Many formally colonized countries in Africa continue to not inculcate Africa languages into the school curriculum. In South Africa for, example, most ex-model C high schools in Cape Town are undersubscribed to isiXhosa.

One of the reasons for the lack of status afforded African languages, is that ex-model C primary schools generally do not offer an African language as a compulsory academic subject. So, learners do not receive the preparation they need to study it as a subject at high school. A review in January 2020 of 10 previously white, English primary schools in Cape Town revealed that all 10 prescribe Afrikaans, not isiXhosa, as the second language.

Many of these same primary schools do offer isiXhosa as a third language, which is taught at a conversational level, but this subject is not required for promotion. The result is that schools allocate fewer resources to third languages: less teaching time, less staffing, little reading or writing and fewer books. Once learners get to high school, they are unprepared to take an African language as an academic subject.

Language policies that privilege English and Afrikaans may suit the historical population of white children, but those policies marginalise African language speaking children (Another group which is marginalised by the status quo, is children who speak non-standard varieties of Afrikaans, such as Kaaps). In effect, apartheid language hierarchies continue to be reproduced and continue to privilege those who were advantaged in the past.

The 1997 Language in Education Policy is aimed at redress for the ills of apartheid and equity for all South African languages. Yet, the most prestigious primary schools are lagging behind on African language subject provision.

At the school level, it is the role of the School Governing Body (SGB), where parents are in the majority, to determine the language policy of state schools. This provision was instituted in the Schools Act of 1996 as part of the negotiated settlement at the end of apartheid. It can work to safeguard the ethos of previously white schools. But SGBs can also be levers for change. In fulfilling their role in 2020, SGBs must consider the language needs and aspirations of a diverse parent and learner body.

Steps have been taken by the Department of Basic Education to increase the provision of African languages in ex-model C schools. For example, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) aims to roll out the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) in 900 schools by 2020. The IIAL strategy however, continues to position English and Afrikaans as academic subjects, and African languages as third, or conversational languages only. The WCED offers no support to schools to fund teachers, allocate teaching time, or provide textbooks and other materials in isiXhosa.

Compounding the lack of commitment to African languages is the reticence of publishing companies to publish children's literature in African languages. There are a few notable exceptions, where some publishing houses have published books in African languages, that have been translated from English. But the commitment to publishing books originally written in African languages is lacking. This positions English as central and African languages as peripheral in children’s literature in South Africa.

Finally, with so little provision for the academic study of African languages at ex-model C schools, pathways to the study of African languages at university level are closed.

What are the consequences of limited African language provision?

Children from Black African language speaking backgrounds, who attend elite primary schools, currently do not see their cultural and linguistic resources valued. This restricts children’s access to full participation in cultural practices. It also re-inscribes racial hierarchies which the enabling Language in Education Policy sought to eradicate.

English monolingual children, on the other hand, are disadvantaged by a lack of communication skills across racial differences in our country. English and Afrikaans speaking children are not taught to respect African languages, and by extension the people who speak them, as equally suited to carrying academic meanings.

All children are also under-skilled for professions such as medicine, speech and occupational therapy, law and teaching, where communication in an African language is essential.

Establishing African languages as academic subjects could contribute to disrupting the colonial and Apartheid hierarchy of ways of knowing and being.

The following creative solutions are also available:

1. Well-resourced schools could create integrated and multilingual learning in the Foundation Phase (Grades 1 to 3) and offer both Afrikaans and an African language as second languages. Considering that an increasing number of learners in these schools are already African language speakers, this is not adding to their load.

2. In the senior primary, schools could offer a choice between Afrikaans and an African language as a second language.

3. Some new private schools, such as Spark schools, have shown that change is possible, adopting an African language as the second language.

4. Other schools have gone further and include an African language as a medium of instruction, alongside English.

5. Out of school literacy clubs, such as those started by Nal'ibali, have proven to be engaging and creative places for multilingual children to engage with literacy.

6. Across the continent, creative bilingual textbook development is happening in Tanzania and Rwanda. The official language policy in schools in Ghana is bilingual education, with schools choosing one indigenous language alongside English.

7. Raising the status and offering of African languages at universities will provide additional support for change at school level.

It will take political will and effort on the part of all stakeholders to change the unjust treatment of African languages at previously white schools. Not least, staff recruitment patterns will need to shift in favour of teachers who can teach an African language as a second language. It is up to parents, staff, SGBs, provincial and national education departments, tertiary institutions and publishers to work together to establish African language learning pathways from early childhood into tertiary education and beyond.

The time has come to act decisively and urgently. In order not to be disadvantaged, Grade 1s entering previously white schools in 2021 need to be offered African languages as academic subjects.

The writers, Babalwayashe Molate and Robyn Tyler, write on behalf of the bua-lit language and literacy collective.

Source: dailymaverick.co