The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) showed concern with the decline in the percentage points pass rate of some of the South African indigenous languages.
This comes at the time when the union and other civic organisations are affecting a tangible agenda to decolonise the education system.
SADTU continues to advocate for the prioritisation of indigenous African languages so that, in real measurable terms, move towards the decolonisation of the South African education system.
The teacher union has seen this as a key requirement towards educating the South African youth of its origins, values, ethics, to have a sense of pride in their identity, and thus to appreciate the role and responsibility towards their communities and the broader society.
In a statement, SADTU said:
The most efficient education systems in the world have a particular focus on Early Childhood Development. The cognitive development of our learners is almost entirely dependent on the Early Childhood Development phase.
The teachers union has expressed that there should be an increased investment into this sector by ensuring that work conditions are uniform across the various provinces and that the practitioners are exposed to continuous professional development initiatives.
The teacher union said that there needs to be greater collaboration between the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education, such that there can be a coherent and measurable strategy on elevating indigenous languages to those of academia and instruction at the basic education level.
