Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

DBE’s inability to provide quality mother-language education raises concerns

Soundbite: Alana Bailey (English)

Soundbite: Alana Bailey (Afrikaans)

Annually when the matric results are announced, AfriForum expresses its doubts about the reliable image created by the ever-improving pass rate. These doubts have just been justified once more by the announcement that the rollout of Coding and Robotics as compulsory subjects is being put on hold for the time being.

According to the Department of Basic Education, the process is being halted as it first has to focus on improving literacy and numeracy in the early grades. Local and international research indeed indicates that the majority of learners’ ability to read with comprehension is so poor that it will be futile to offer subjects requiring comprehension, such as Coding and Robotics at most South African schools at this stage.

Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, mentions that it had previously been announced that an official Coding and Robotics curriculum for Grades R to 9 would be implemented in 2025 to prepare learners more effectively for the future labour market. This was in response to the increasing requirement for workers in most sectors to have digital skills. “By announcing that the implementation is being halted, the department acknowledges that it is unable to ensure that most schools can offer quality education. Even more disappointing is that it means that the majority of learners will fall even further behind in the labour market,” she says.

According to the 2022 report of the South African Systemic Evaluation (SASE), Afrikaans and English mother-language speakers are the learners who are best at reading with comprehension. Bailey attributes this to inadequate mother-language education. “Although children from Grades R to 3 supposedly receive mother-language education, learning materials are often not available in their own language. There are also not enough qualified mother-language teachers. Add in other challenges, such as the lack of sufficient schools resulting in overcrowded classrooms, budgetary challenges, and political interference in schools, and the result is the poor literacy and numeracy skills that are the fate of too many children in the country,” she adds.

“With the passing of the so-called Bela Act, the illusion has been created that solutions would now be found for these challenges, but by making Grade R compulsory, among other issues, the above-mentioned challenges have only been exacerbated. Where the ANC-led government fails to adequately prepare the youth for the future, the resources provided by private initiatives are the best hope for enterprising schools to increase the quality of their education. Unfortunately, these options can rarely be implemented without cost, and learners from the poorest communities often remain at the mercy of what the provincial departments have to offer. While the focus of these departments so often mainly remains on Anglicisation, AfriForum will continue to advocate for the provision of mother-language education as the key prerequisite for quality education.