Mother Tongue Policy For Primary Okay
SIR— On Monday, October 14, The New Vision ran an editorial entitled, “Language policy ill-conceived", that contradicted the intentions of the Ministry of Education language policy.
SIR— On Monday, October 14, The New Vision ran an editorial entitled, “Language policy ill-conceived", that contradicted the intentions of the Ministry of Education language policy. The editor was commenting on the initiatives taken by the district education officers in Buganda to introduce the mother tongue in lower primary schools as a medium of instruction. The editor's major concern was the widening gap in perfomance between rural schools and their urban counterparts which is likely to escalate with the implementation of the policy, and the fate of the cosmopolitan centres.
However, the reverse is true. The gap will in fact narrow. Rural schools are are bound to perform better than the urban schools. The Government White Paper on education emphasizes the ease with which children grasp the concepts when taught in their mother tongue than in a second language. Research has been carried out on this effect.
The issue at hand is not the kind of English a learner is able to speak,but rather the ability to grow academically and grasp the much needed content, and later on transform the content into viable practical work. In fact, a good foundation in the mother tongue would facilitate proper learning of English at the at the upper level.
The Government White Paper clearly shows the five area languages; languages of wider communication and the areas where they are supposed to be
learnt/taught. As for cosmopolitan centres, it maintains that English will be taught as a subject in all classes and the alternative provided for the basic literacy programmes for adults; of choosing a dominant language in an areas as a medium of instruction could as well be employed in a multilingual setting.
The district education officers are trying to break the bureaucracy that has impeded the implementation of many "good" policies. Effecting the language policy at a regional level (Buganda) is not only good to Buganda, but also to other regions as well.
Matthis Mulumba
Makerere University
However, the reverse is true. The gap will in fact narrow. Rural schools are are bound to perform better than the urban schools. The Government White Paper on education emphasizes the ease with which children grasp the concepts when taught in their mother tongue than in a second language. Research has been carried out on this effect.
The issue at hand is not the kind of English a learner is able to speak,but rather the ability to grow academically and grasp the much needed content, and later on transform the content into viable practical work. In fact, a good foundation in the mother tongue would facilitate proper learning of English at the at the upper level.
The Government White Paper clearly shows the five area languages; languages of wider communication and the areas where they are supposed to be
learnt/taught. As for cosmopolitan centres, it maintains that English will be taught as a subject in all classes and the alternative provided for the basic literacy programmes for adults; of choosing a dominant language in an areas as a medium of instruction could as well be employed in a multilingual setting.
The district education officers are trying to break the bureaucracy that has impeded the implementation of many "good" policies. Effecting the language policy at a regional level (Buganda) is not only good to Buganda, but also to other regions as well.
Matthis Mulumba
Makerere University