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28 September 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Edzani Nephalela
Jerry Thoka
Swanti Jerry Thoka, former CSRC President and Actuarial Science student, expresses his questions and policy proposals during the questions-and-answers session.

Multilingualism is a buzzword at many South African universities. These universities promote social cohesion, a sense of belonging, and epistemic access and success by improving and advancing existing language policies and practices.

On 16 September 2022, the University of the Free State (UFS) had its first student discussion on the Bloemfontein Campus regarding the draft Language Policy, which is being reviewed for an updated version in 2023. With English being the primary language of teaching and learning, this policy aims to promote diversity in teaching and learning in Sesotho, isiZulu, Afrikaans, and Sign Language through translating tutorials and academic vocabulary and continuously establishing and maintaining trans-institutional, interinstitutional, and intra-institutional collaborations for the development of a translanguaging culture.

During the presentation, Dr Nomalungelo Ngubane, Director of the Academy for Multilingualism, revealed to students that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has designated a decade – from 2022 to 2032 – as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. This guarantees that these languages are promoted and advanced enough to be utilised as academic languages in academia. "This puts pressure on the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to recognise students' different languages in institutions. Section 29 of the South African Constitution further stipulates that we all have the right to learn in our preferred language, but only if it is practical. So currently, we cannot learn in these languages due to the lack of glossaries," Dr Ngubane said.

During the question-and-answer session, Swanti Jerry Thoka, a former Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) President and Actuarial Science student, cited the policy. "The policy states that it will entail developing previously disadvantaged languages, which includes both indigenous languages and Sign Language, as well as continuing to improve existing ones. Why don't we concentrate on development because the current languages have advanced? For example, a Sign Language policy appears to exist, but it lacks a comprehensive execution strategy," Thoka said. 

Dr Ngubane noted all the remarks and questions, and assured attendees that they would be addressed at the next Council meeting. She stressed the value of students’ participation in policymaking, since their future is being debated. She further explained that students should provide the SRC with recommendations to submit at the Council meetings, because the SRC are their elected representatives.


Dr Nomalungelo Ngubane, Director of the Academy for Multilingualism, presents the draft language policy at the Equitas, Bloemfontein Campus.
(Photo: Edzani Nephalela) 

News Archive

Faculty of Education discusses new curricula at summit
2012-03-07

 

Die Fakulteit Opvoedkunde se nuut-aangepaste B.Ed.-programme word binnekort by die Nasionale Departement van Hoër Onderwys en Opleiding ingedien vir herakkreditasie. Proff. Rita Niemann (links), Direkteur vir Nagraadse Studie en Navorsing, en Gawie du Toit, Direkteur vir Aanvanklike Onderwysersopvoeding, is aan die stuur van die herkurrikuleringsproses vir voorgraadse en nagraadse programme van die Fakulteit Opvoedkunde.
6 March 2012

The training of professional teachers rests on a strong curriculum. For this reason, the Faculty of Education has been re-looking at the curricula of the B.Ed. programme for the past two years.

Before this programme is submitted for approval and accreditation, the Education Faculty’s staff from the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses will attend a summit at the Gariep Dam on 7 and 8 March 2012. This summit is a sequel to guidelines drawn up by the National Department of Higher Education and Training on adjusted requirements for teacher training. It determines that all initial teacher training and honours programmes be recurriculated and resubmitted for accreditation. These requirements were published in the Government Gazette in July 2011 and involve all education faculties in the country.
 
Deans and line heads of other faculties, including Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Humanities, and Economic and Management Sciences, have also become involved as Education students often register for modules in these faculties.
 
Last week a team from the UFS’s Education Faculty also attended a workshop presented by the Council on Higher Education where the criteria for recurriculation and the evaluation of programmes were discussed.
 
Prof. Gawie du Toit of the UFS’s Faculty of Education says curriculation is not merely a technical process but requires thorough reflection and conceptualisation, involving various roleplayers.
“It is important that recurriculation should take place over a period of time to allow for sufficient time for reflection, absorption and ownership.”
 
Thus, the aim of the Gariep Dam summit is to introduce a teachers’ training program that will provide graduates with the necessary knowledge, skills and responsibilities to take up their places as academics and professional beginner teachers.
 
During these two days students in Education will not attend any classes but they are tasked with self study and to complete assignments.

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