The discontinuation of Mother Tongue Education for African language learners transitioning to English in Grades 4 for Quintile 1-3 schools is early and is NOT supported by local and international research.

What has become obvious in the South African assessment data is that when achievement of children who learn and are assessed in their home language (mostly speakers of English and Afrikaans) is compared with those who have to learn and be assessed in a second language (usually English for 78% of learners) there is a significant gap in achievement.

This is manifested post-Foundation Phase, with the change in the Language of Teaching and Learning in Grade 4. The gap is between 32% for African language speakers and 69% for speakers of English and Afrikaans. What this means is that for the majority of African students, they are so far behind by Grade 6 that it is unlikely that they will catch up with the speakers of English and Afrikaans. They are the most vulnerable in terms of future employment, health and poverty. This group will always be stuck in the cycle of the triple burden of inequality, poverty and unemployment..

MTBBE - Why bilingual education?

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