Conservative rights group AfriForum has made a call for parents to insist on mother tongue instruction from their children’s schools.
On the face of it, this is a good thing. It is good for children to be taught in a language they are comfortable in It may even, as Afriforum claims, help children perform better, though I would like to know the basis of this claim and whether it takes into account factors such as school resources, social contexts and the like. It also just feels right. It appeals to the part of us that is proud of our individual heritage, a sort of affirmation for one’s identity.
But here is the thing: apart from being nearly impractical to enforce, it could lead to a form of segregation in schools that could have worrying consequences. The most effective way of ensuring each child has an equal opportunity to learn in their mother tongue is having language specific schools. Bilingual schools could only ever offer English and one other language. That could not work in South Africa. And Afriforum would be the first ones to complain if, for example, schools in rural KwaZulu-Natal went English and isiZulu only on account of local demographics.
Trilingual schools would be so impractical as to be out of the question altogether. Now I am in principle opposed to the idea of schools that would force a racial segregation by default. Schools are the best chance kids have of interacting and relating to other races in a context largely free of the interference of adults with racial hangovers. Segregating youth under the guise of fostering mother tongue education would be a dangerous move.
Parents can very effectively teach their children an appreciation and pride in their language as easily as schools can. The home sets the context for children, not schools. Let’s not revisit the past on children.
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