Kalanga exams for Grade 7s by year end

EXAMINATIONS in the Kalanga language will be written for the first time this year by Grade Seven pupils under the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec).

The language is widely spoken in Bulilima and Mangwe Districts.

Speaking during a programme for the validation of the curriculum framework at Jahunda Primary School in Gwanda Town recently, the Matabeleland South provincial education director Tumisang Thabela said the development showed the government's commitment to ensuring that indigenous languages did not die.

"One interesting thing about our province is that it's one of the provinces that are going to benefit from one of the key elements done in the curriculum framework, the element of indigenous languages.

"In terms of teaching, we have Kalanga which is going to be examined for the first time at Grade Seven this year," she said.

Apart from Ndebele and Shona, five other indigenous languages - TjiKalanga, TshiVenda, SeSotho, Shangaan and Tswana are taught in some schools in the province.

"This means we're now teaching seven out of the 16 indigenous languages. We have TshiVenda which has gone up to Form Two this year and SeSotho which is going to be, hopefully, examined in the next year or so because the textbooks have just been supplied by the Ministry (of Primary and Secondary Education) for the full implementation of that language," Thabela said.

In the past pupils sat for only Ndebele and Shona public examinations.

Recently, some pupils sat for Tonga and Venda examinations.

The teaching and learning of indigenous languages has been a challenge because of a shortage of resources.