South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) says a clear national trend is emerging: more former Afrikaans medium Model-C schools are beginning to introduce English as a language of instruction.

The update was delivered to Parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education during a briefing on the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, particularly sections dealing with Grade R, language policies and school admissions.

Deputy Director-General for Delivery and Support, Simone Geyer, told MPs that the shift shows progress, and reflects how school populations are changing.

“In language evolution, the data indicates a nationwide trend of Afrikaans medium schools introducing English instruction, which is a good thing to accommodate the movement of learners from different parts of the country,” Geyer said.

Concern over slow integration of African languages

While MPs acknowledged the progress toward inclusivity, some raised concerns that many of these schools are opting for English only, rather than diversifying further to include African languages.

The most notable progress has come from KwaZulu-Natal, where more schools have begun integrating African languages into their policies.

The committee requested a school-level spreadsheet that will allow committee members to:

• see which schools have not yet revised their language policies
• identify schools that remain single medium and have not introduced African languages
• understand the reasons provided.

Crunching the school numbers

At the same time, the committee welcomed the data the Department presented on language policy and admissions in former Model-C schools.

Members were informed that early implementation data on the BELA Act’s amendments to school language and admissions policies show gradual but measurable shifts across the system.

Of the 19 686 schools reported, including about 1 795 former Model-C schools, 274 Afrikaans-medium schools have added English in response to demographic and parental demand and 946 former Model-C schools now offer at least one African language.

Members also heard that 1 080 schools have submitted revised admissions policies and 1 047 have finalised updated language policies.

“The law is not an abstract exercise,” added committee chairperson, Ms Joy Maimela.

“It must translate into open, inclusive schools that do not use language or admissions policies as a barrier to children’s right to basic education.”