In June 1976, thousands of black school children took to the streets in Soweto over the use of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction at majority black schools. More than 100 pupils died and approximately 700 were injured that day, and their bravery marked a turning point in South Africa’s liberation struggle. Almost 50 years since that fateful day, and 30 years since the advent of democracy, and the struggle of the class of 1976 continues, as the medium of instruction remains a fundamental flaw in the current basic education system.
According to Dr Xolisa Guzula, an early literacy expert in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) School of Education, this is one of four reasons why South Africa finds itself in the grips of a literacy crisis and 80% of children in Grade 4 cannot read for meaning. The other three reasons include: a narrow conceptualisation of literacy as a skill while failing to understand it as a social practice; using English logic with teaching, reading and writing in African languages; and applying literacy pedagogies that emphasise rote learning (a memorisation technique based on repetition). For Dr Guzula and her peers, who are in the field working to evaluate and test innovative ways of getting children to read with understanding, this crucial sector of society has achieved “very little” in the past three decades.
“There are very few achievements. What we’ve managed to do is to ensure universal access to education and all children are expected to attend school. We’ve also managed to introduce a single curriculum for all children, unlike the differentiated curriculums for whites, blacks, coloureds and Indians under apartheid, and increased educational spending per child,” Guzula said. “But there remains so much inequality materially. Things like science labs, school libraries, sports fields, school halls, as well as other enrichment activities such as the arts and sports between schools are nowhere near being equal.”
UCT News spoke to Guzula to get some insight into the current state of the education system, 30 years into the democratic dispensation. She also provided tangible suggestions on how to turn the giant tanker around and improve education outcomes for millions of children.
Change the medium of instruction and improve pedagogy, content knowledge
To start, Guzula said the Department of Basic Education (DBE) must make a concerted effort with changing the medium of instruction in schools with majority of African language-speaking learners and improve pedagogic and content knowledge.
Currently, she said, African-language-speaking learners begin learning in their mother tongue from Grades 1 to 3. But once they reach Grade 4, they are forced to switch to English as the preferred medium of instruction. This, she explained, causes havoc and means that learners need to move from learning monolingually in their home languages to learning in English, even though they can’t speak, read, or write in English at the required level expected of a child in Grade 4.
