Setswana mother tongue: opportunities and challenges in Namibian schools

Abstract

The official language policy in Namibia states that schools should teach grade 1 to 3 pupils in their mother tongue, but it is seldom taught as a medium of instruction in those grades. Where it is taught, there are seldom qualified teachers to teach it. This research investigates the teaching of Setswana language in schools in order to assess the factors contributing to the gap between policy and reality. Setswana speakers in Namibia constitute 0.3% of households (NSA, 2012) (unlike in Botswana where they are the majority and in South Africa, they constitute a substantial group). The rationale is that knowing the challenges and opportunities to providing mother tongue education to Batswana people may contribute to policy formulation that allows achievement of Namibia’s goal of Education for All (EFA). Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were the main qualitative data collection methods utilised for this study. Findings indicate that among the challenges of teaching in the mother tongue to Setswana children include; lack of qualified teachers, lack of teaching material, and conflict between curriculum panelists and Setswana subject advisor at NIED. Among the opportunities are collaboration with Botswana and South Africa governments on Setswana curriculum development in schools, Namibian schools, sourcing Setswana school materials and a pool of potential Setswana language teachers from Botswana and South Africa. It can be concluded that concerted efforts should be made by authorities to promote the use of local languages (such as Setswana) as a medium of instruction.