South African University Will Make Zulu Course Compulsory to All Freshmen

Starting next year, a South African University will require all freshman students to take Zulu language classes. The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) that is located at Durban is aiming for “bringing diverse languages together, “social cohesion,” and promoting nation-building.” UKZN is recognized as one of South Africa’s pre-eminent institutions of higher learning.

This decision was confirmed by a university official who also said that the university has the responsibility to ensure that adequate linguistic choices are provided and therefore resulting in effective learning solutions.

Lingua franca

For the first time in its history an institution of higher learning in South Africa has made it compulsory for its students to master an indigenous language. This watershed moment requires students of every field of study to become bilingual as they work to obtain their degrees. At present, almost 50% of first year enrollees already speak Zulu in their homes.

South Africa has eleven official languages and Zulu is the mother tongue of 23% of the population of the country, hence one of the most widely spoken. President Jacob Zuma himself speaks Zulu. Based on a 2001 census, the rest of the population speaks the following: Afrikaans: 14%, English: 10%, Sepedi: 9%, Sesotho: 8%, Setswana: 8% and Xhosa: 16%. The UKZN has discussed that this decision was brought upon by pressing issues in a country that is still divided by culture and race.

Voluntary vs. Mandatory

The Mercury newspaper of South Africa published a statement from the director of the Stellenbosch University’s Language Centre, Prof. Leon de Stadler. He said that a truly democratic society would have multilingual citizens, but he was not endorsing compulsory learning of Zulu.

Prof. Stadler reiterated that making a language compulsory might create a negative outlook on language teaching and promotion. The deputy head of South African Institute of Race Relations, Frans Cronje stated that this decision might increase the risk of alienating people who do not speak Zulu. Cronje recommends that such courses should not be mandatory but rather voluntary.

Zulu: Language for life

Zulu is the only indigenous African language in which a major newspaper is published daily. In KwaZulu-Natal, a majority or 80% of the people speak Zulu. In the University, more than 60% of the students speak the language.

The UKZN Vice-Chancellor Renuka Vithal said in an interview that this move would in the end be helpful to students in both their personal and professional lives and helps them with the communication skills that they would need in real life.

In Africa, a student can finish schooling without learning any indigenous African language. Critics have even cited the lack of concrete effort from the African National Congress (ANC) to affect a change in terms of promoting the use of indigenous language now that it has been decades since the end of apartheid. Before 1994, only two languages were recognized as official in South Africa, namely Afrikaans and English. At present, English is still the dominant language in business, politics, and the media despite the fact that only 8.2% of the population speaks English in their homes.

Photo Credit: Zulu Parade