Zambia Discovers that Learning in Native Dialect is Better Than Using English
Learning in Native African Language is Better Than Learning in English
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) secretary-general Wynter Kabimba says the PF government will overhaul the education system by making local languages more prominent in the curriculum and doing away with the colonial style of education.
Mr Kabimba said the current education system is still steeped in colonialism and Government would put an end to that.
“Our education system has a colonial hang-up…we want to change that,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said this during a meeting with school managers from over 20 government schools in Mazabuka on Saturday.
He said the current education system does not meet the challenges of a third-world country.
“Our education system does not meet the demands of a third-world country. We are producing students who are not relevant to the needs of our country,” Mr Kabimba said.
He wondered why Zambians should insist on using English as the medium of communication when the country is rich with many languages.
“It is the policy of the PF to revive vernacular languages because a language gives us identity,” Mr Kabimba said.
He said the PF wants pupils aged 10 and above to focus on what they are good at, instead of studying subjects which are irrelevant to their skills.
“We need artisans to develop this country. We cannot all be lawyers or doctors. That is why the PF wants to tap into human potential at a young age,” Mr Kabimba said.
“Our education system does not meet the demands of a third-world country. We are producing students who are not relevant to the needs of our country,” Mr Kabimba said.
Mr Kabimba said there is a deliberate effort by colonial masters to kill native languages.
“A language gives personal and cultural identity. Teachers have a duty to teach children vernacular languages.
“It is the policy of the PF to revive vernacular languages because our languages give us a sense of identity,” Mr Kabimba said.
Mr Kabimba said he is not proud to use English as a medium of communication.
“I use Sala when talking to my children in my house, because English is a foreign language,” Mr Kabimba said.
Mr Kabimba said he is proud that when he started school in Livingstone, he was taught Tonga and later on he learnt Lozi.
“I speak these local languages fluently because I was taught to speak them while I was young,” he said.
“We need artisans to develop this country. We cannot all be lawyers or doctors. That is why the PF wants to tap into human potential at a young age,” Mr Kabimba said.
Mr Kabimba said he finds it strange that some people even brag that they speak English better than indigenous languages.
Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba says there’s no compromise of discipline in the party. Mr Kabimba says discipline in PF is paramount because no one is bigger than the party.
Mr Kabimba, who is also Minister of Justice, was speaking on Saturday in Mazabuka during a radio programme called Live Wire on Mazabuka Radio.
And Mr Kabimba says most Zambians are concentrating on discussing individuals at the expense of development.
“Let’s learn to debate Development Issues, not personalities because there are many people who are suffering out there,” Mr Kabimba said.
Some callers wanted to drag Mr Kabimba into discussing the fate of Minister of Foreign Affair Given Lubinda.
“Our primary duty and priority is to tackle the poverty which Zambian people are facing, not to discuss personalities,” Mr Kabimba said.
He urged people to rally behind the PF government so that it can deliver development.
“Support the PF with or without Wynter Kabimba. The PF wants this country to be better and if Zambia does not develop under Michael Sata, we can forget about development,” Mr Kabimba said.
Source: Lusaka times
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