Parents asked to have children educated in mother language

At the start of the 2012 school year, AfriForum called on parents to ensure that their children are educated in their mother language.  Parents were also asked to apply pressure on government to provide mother-language education where it is not available yet.  Where it is available, AfriForum urged parents to resist any effort by government to curb mother-language education.

According to Alana Bailey, deputy CEO of AfriForum, the matric results annually confirm that learners who enjoy mother-language education, in general do much better that learners who are educated in a second or third language.

Bailey emphasised that undeniable proof exists for the fact that learners find it easier to master new concepts and skills - also in mathematical and natural science subjects - if they learn it in the mother language, rather than in a second or third language.  Bailey added that the opposite is also true, namely that learners find it harder to understand abstract concepts in another language and therefore often memorise it, rather than to understand it, which means that in the long run, they cannot apply the knowledge successfully.

Bailey therefore states that mother-language education should be offered to learners for as long as possible, even at the tertiary level, as this will give them a head start without which an increasing number of careers will not be accessible to them.

It is a myth that education by means of one specific language, such as English in the case of South Africa, benefits learners more than any other language.  "Parents who are serious about their children's future, should demand mother-language education," Bailey said.

Statement issued by Alana Bailey, Deputy CEO: AfriForum, January 11 2012

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