Times Of Swaziland: CONDUCT LESSONS IN SISWATI, PM ORDERS PRIMARY SCHOOLS

CONDUCT LESSONS IN SISWATI, PM ORDERS PRIMARY SCHOOLS
================================================================================
BY NONDUMISO MTSETFWA  AND BONGIWE DLAMINI on 23/02/2017 01:19:00


MANZINI – The Prime Minister (PM) Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini has ordered all
primary schools, both private and public in the country, to conduct lessons in
siSwati from Grade I to Grade IV.
Furthermore, siSwati will now be compulsory in all high schools and tertiary
applicants will be required to take a competency test in siSwati before
admission. As per the theme, the PM made the declarations in his mother tongue
at the International Mother Language Day Celebration at The George Hotel
yesterday.
In his speech, the PM said; “Furthermore, in all public and private primary
schools in Swaziland, up to and including Grade IV, a child’s education will
be conducted in siSwati. In the later grades of primary education, and in all
high schools, siSwati will be one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum.
And before admission to tertiary education, all applicants will be required to
take a competency test in siSwati.”
Clarifying the above policy was the Minister of Education and Training, Phineas
Magagula, who said the country was not doing away with other languages at
schools, however, pupils,  whether in private or publiv primary school, will not
be expected to choose between siSwati and another language, instead, siSwati
will be a core subject.
“We are progressing as a country and this means one day we want to be able to
translate foreign words to siSwati in schools, words that are normally found in
Mathematics or Geography.
“However, this cannot be done overnight. We need to assemble a team of siSwati
experts who will come up with these words,” Magagula explained
He said their objective was to produce bilingual pupils whom they would also
like to be trilingual as siSwati and English were the basic languages but were
not the only ones currently taught in schools.
Preschools were not left out of the policies as it was declared that they would
soon be required to teach in both English and siSwati.