Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT values all the country’s official languages and children in infant school should be taught in their mother tongue as required by the Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Dr Torerai Moyo has said.
Dr Moyo said this in the Senate while responding to suggestions by Senator Mike Bimha if Government couldn’t make English, Shona and Ndebele compulsory subjects.
The Minister, however, said making the three languages compulsory would be against Government policy.
“We have a policy that clearly states that out of the 16 officially recognised languages, at the moment, we value all the languages. All of them are important. Should we go to Chipinge, where there is Ndau. There are also Kalanga and Venda in Beitbridge. We see that all these people may not have learnt Shona in schools, but they can speak Shona,” Dr Moyo said.
“We value all 16 languages. What is happening now is that all children are to learn Shona and Ndebele, or English and Ndebele, English and Shona. We are oppressing children who speak Tonga, Ndau and other languages”.
He said when Government launched the Heritage-based curriculum, there was a policy called Zimbabwe Early Learning Policy (ZELP).
“This means that a child who is in an infant school, ECD A, ECD B, Grade 1 and Grade 2, in terms of our law, you cannot teach them in English, you teach them in their mother tongue. This means that if we teach that child English or Shona when they are supposed to learn in Venda or Tonga, we are depriving the child’s rights in terms of our law,” Dr Moyo said.
He added that Government’s intentions were for all pupils to be taught in their mother tongue before they learn other languages.
“It is our wish that all languages be valued and be taught in all our schools. This means that all people are equal and all languages are equal. So, our children should be taught in their mother languages. Once we have attained that, we will now look at additional languages to be learned because it may be a challenge to teach the child all 16 languages. Let us respect the child’s mother tongue,” Dr Moyo said.
The country’s Constitution recognises 16 official languages and these are English, Shona, Ndebele, Shangani, Sotho, Venda, Kalanga, Nambya, Chewa, sign language, Tonga, Chibarwe, Ndau, Tswana, Koisan, and Xhosa.
