International Mother Language Day is commemorated every year on 21
February, and it aims to underline the important role of
multilingualism in the creation of an inclusive society. In addition,
the day is observed in order to promote linguistic and cultural
diversity. The day is also an opportunity to reflect on how
multicultural and multilingual societies transmit and preserve their
traditional knowledge and culture through language. International
Mother Language Day is a day to evaluate the steps that are being
taken towards the Sustainable Development Goal of advancing inclusion
and ensuring that no one is left behind.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO), which is the United Nations agency with the mandate of
dealing with all aspects of education, believes that education based
on the first language or mother tongue must begin from early childhood
care. This will ensure that everyone is presented with an equal
opportunity to learn regardless of the language one speaks. The
provision of this equal opportunity is key to ensuring that UNESCO’s
goals of sustainable development, peace and the eradication of poverty
are met.
This year’s observance of the day calls on policymakers, educators,
parents and families to scale up their commitment to multilingual
education and inclusion in education in order to advance the recovery
of the education sector from the adverse impact of the Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. The disruption caused by COVID-19 to the normal
education systems across the globe has negatively affected many
students, especially those who are not taught in their mother tongue.
The steps taken to cope with the impact of COVID-19, such as switching
to online learning in our schools, have disproportionately affected
the quality of education of students whose mother language differs
from the language of instruction. This is because, only a small
proportion of the world’s languages have been given an important place
in the education system and public domain, an even smaller proportion
of these languages are used in the digital world. As result, the
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the exclusion of many students from
the attainment of quality education. It is in this context that calls
are being made for all sections of society to contribute to the
recovery of the education sector through the promotion of
multilingualism in education. The recovery of the education sector is
instrumental to the attainment of global development goals and thus
there should be a committed drive by everyone to ensure that education
systems are provided with the necessary support they need. This year,
the focus is on reducing the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of an
inclusive education through promoting multilingualism.
The recent grade 7 results are a testament to the detrimental impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of education in the country.
The pass rate was 37.11 percent and a number of schools recorded 0
percent pass rates. Despite this, the results highlighted how
indigenous languages can play a greater role in improving the overall
quality of results of students.
The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council board chairperson, during a
virtual meeting conference, revealed that indigenous languages
recorded higher subject pass rates in comparison to subjects such as
English, Mathematics, Agriculture and General Paper. Subjects like
Shona, Ndebele, Nambya, Tshivenda, Xichangana and Kalanga recorded
pass rates that were over 65 percent. This picture strengthens the
argument that indigenous languages can be used to enhance the
provision of quality education to students from various sections of
the community.
Including the various indigenous languages in Zimbabwe
among the languages of instruction in the education system is key to
the improvement of the overall quality of students’ results across all
subjects. It is therefore imperative for policymakers, local and
central government to expedite the process of expanding the range of
languages of instruction in schools.
The celebration of International Mother Language Day is also an
opportunity to reflect on the steps that need to be taken to ensure
that as many people as possible can have their right to education
fulfilled by being instructed in their mother languages. The inclusion
of braille among the languages of instruction in schools is crucial to
the protection of the right to education for persons living with
disabilities. In addition, the inclusion of braille in official
government communications is important for the creation of an
inclusive society.
On International Mother Language Day, the role played by languages in
shaping our identity is celebrated. Communities are built and
maintained by languages which act as a means of unifying groups.
Languages also serve to preserve traditional knowledge and wisdom. The
interconnectedness between culture and language means that the
promotion of multiculturalism is tied to multilingualism. As a result,
coordinated steps should be taken to advance multilingualism for the
sake of protecting the cultural diversity of our communities.
On this International Mother Language Day, ZLHR calls upon:
o Policymakers, local and central government to take strategic steps
to foster multilingualism and promote the various mother tongues in
Zimbabwe in order to enhance inclusion in education and broader
society;
o Educators, parents and families to scale up their commitment to
multilingual education in order to advance the recovery of the
education sector from the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;
o Policymakers, local and central government to include the various
indigenous languages in Zimbabwe among the languages of instruction in
the education system;
o Government to take steps to include braille in official government
communications;
o All members of society to promote multilingualism in order to
preserve the cultural diversity of Zimbabwe.