Advancing the use of African languages in education

BAQONDE is a collaborative project between European and South African Higher Education Institutions to facilitate and promote the use of indigenous African languages as a medium of instruction in tertiary education.

Four South African universities (North-West University, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of the Western Cape and Rhodes University) and three European universities (Trinity College Dublin, University of Groningen and University of Salamanca) led by the latter have put together a realistic plan to create, develop and sustain an effective strategy to ensure the implementation of the recently approved Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in South Africa which prioritizes the development of African languages as medium of education. With this in mind, BAQONDE is a catalyst for actions that will build capacity among lecturers and students in South African tertiary education. Core initiatives of the project partners include the establishment of an inter-institutional network of African Language Development Units (ALDUs) and the progressive creation of multidisciplinary materials in African (Bantu) languages. These initiatives will be extended to other HEIs, and outreach activities at primary and secondary levels should ultimately create sector-wide synergies around African languages – capacity-building for their teaching, their intellectualisation and their embrace and use.