The point of departure in this article is the call by the Minister of Higher Education and Training in 2011 to introduce compulsory indigenous African language courses at tertiary institutions. The current language policy of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the practicalities and difficulties of introducing the compulsory course at tertiary level is examined. The current language policy of the present South African Government and the negative attitudes of potential African language learners at schools and universities are discussed and a recommendation made for a possible way forward.
This paper looks broadly at the situation of the Government's Language Policy in schools and at the declining numbers of pupils opting to take isiZulu as a first additional language subject in KwaZulu-Natal compared to Afrikaans. In particular, the recent court case against Durban High School (DHS) in 2008 will be examined as well as the impact of this case generally with regards second language teaching in KwaZulu-Natal.
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