APRIL 2020 - RESEP WORKING PAPER

The roles and responsibilities of education stakeholders in shaping the language and literacy landscape are examined through the discussion of ten language in education policies, namely the Constitution of South Africa, the National Education Policy Act, the South African Schools Act, the Norms and Standards for language policy in public schools, the Language Compensation policy in the National Sc. [...] In the reading and interpretation of language in education policy, the tenets of all three policy approaches emerge, namely the idea of policy as a public good, the role of technocracy, the authority of legislation and government responsibilities as well as the implementation of policy beyond a formal declaration. [...] In responding to the findings of the Ministerial task and the colloquium, the Department of Education committed to developing a language plan that focused on the provision of mother-tongue instruction until Grade 6; developing a second language programme for the general and further schooling phase; a national programme to revitalise the teaching and learning of indigenous languages in higher educa. [...] In reflecting on this first phase of development and the critique in light of language planning, it is clear that the main focus of this phase was on status planning as reflected in the declarations of the Constitution of South Africa such as equality, justice and recognising the previous marginalisation of African languages. [...] The text of the policy concerning the calculation of marks and the composition of language subjects to attain the certificate are clearly stated and standardised.