As South Africa celebrates International Mother Language Day, the Department of Basic Education says it has made steady progress in advancing mother tongue-bilingual education across the country.
Mother tongue-based bilingual education (MTBBE) was first introduced in the Eastern Cape in 2012. Since then, learners who received education in their home languages have shown better understanding and stronger performance in key subjects such as mathematics and natural sciences.
The department said the results confirm what research and the community have long known – that children learn better when they are taught in their mother tongue.
The department said this early change put learners who speak African indigenous languages at a disadvantage and negatively impacted their educational status.
It states, “For many years, most learners in South Africa had to switch very early to English or Afrikaans as languages of teaching and learning, often before they could fully grasp basic concepts.”
In 2025, Grade 4 students wrote their mathematics exams in their home language for the first time, through a bilingual exam format.
- The Eastern Cape wrote in Afrikaans, isiXhosa and Sesotho;
- independent states in Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga and Setswana;
- Gauteng, Isinedebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshiwenda and Xitsonga in Africa;
- KwaZulu-Natal, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Sesotho in Africa;
- Isinedebele, Tshivenda, isiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana and Xitsonga in Limpopo;
- Mpumalanga, isindebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati and Xitsonga in Africa;
- the Northern Cape in Afrikaans, isiXhosa, Sesotho and Tswana;
- North West in African, isiXhosa, Sesotho and Tswana; And
- Western Cape in African, isiXhosa and Sesotho.
The department said this is an important step towards creating a more inclusive and fair education system.
The department said it will continue to expand the MTBBE program to allow learners to continue learning in their home language for longer periods of time while gradually developing stronger skills in English and other languages.
“This is a turning point in transforming the education system and restoring the status of African languages,” it said.
“Mother tongue is not a barrier to success, rather it strengthens thinking skills, improves results in subjects like mathematics and science and helps learners perform better in the long term,” the department said.
Times Live