Ukuqonda Ezilimini Zethu: Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education as a Decolonial Response to Literacy Challenges in South Africa’s Early Childhood Development (ECD)
In this blog post, which is part of NORRAG’s Early Childhood Education and #TheSouthAlsoKnows blog series, Nkosana Sithole kaMiya and Athenkosi Mndende advocate for radical changes for South Africa’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector through Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education. They argue that systems of measurement must be grounded in Indigenous knowledge, cultural practices, and the lived experiences of South African communities.
South Africa’s Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector is a battleground for educational equity, yet it remains ensnared in colonial systems of measurement. Literacy assessments rooted in Western frameworks alienate children from their cultural realities and perpetuate inequality. The radical task before us is not reform but complete decolonization—dismantling these structures and building a system grounded in indigenous knowledge and African epistemologies.
Decolonizing literacy is not merely a matter of fairness; it is a question of justice. It calls us to confront the violent history of Western education in South Africa and reimagine what it means to learn, to grow, and to be human.
The Colonial Roots of Literacy Metrics
Modern literacy metrics, such as the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and international studies like the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), are widely regarded as benchmarks for assessing educational progress. However, these tools are problematic in the South African context because they reflect and reinforce colonial hierarchies of knowledge.
PIRLS, for example, published the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study found that 81% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa can’t read for meaning. This is up from 78% in 2016, largely on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. This stark statistic, often cited to highlight educational deficiencies, overlooks the fact that these learners are being assessed in languages and formats alien to their cultural contexts on phonemic awareness, and standardized benchmarks ignore the multilingual realities of most South African children. For instance, isiZulu—a tonal and agglutinative language—requires a different approach to reading than English. Yet these differences are not accommodated in assessments, leading to systemic underperformance by learners whose first languages are Indigenous. Even within South Africa, tools like the Annual National Assessments (ANA) replicate these dynamics. The ANAs often treat Indigenous languages as secondary and fail to incorporate cultural nuances, sidelining the diverse oral and symbolic literacies central to African communities.
Rethinking the Public-Private Schools Divide
South Africa’s education system is split between well-funded private schools, under-resourced public schools, and low-cost private alternatives. Elite institutions like Hilton College or Michaelhouse epitomize privilege, offering access to advanced technology, small class sizes, and global networks. However, these advantages come with a narrow emphasis on English and Western-centric curricula, marginalizing Indigenous languages and epistemologies.
Low-cost private schools like Curro and SPARK Schools complicate the landscape. While marketed as accessible, these schools replicate colonial frameworks, emphasizing English-medium instruction and standardized assessments. This model reinforces the notion that education in Indigenous languages is substandard or irrelevant in the modern world, further entrenching inequalities.
The public sector struggles to compete, the total number of students in South Africa amounted to 13.4 million in 2022. Of those, most were in public schooling, with 12.7 million learners accounting for nearly 95 percent of the total. There were 735,085 students in the independent schooling sector (see Statista). To counter this, public education must focus on embedding Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education across the board and reimagining curricula to reflect the realities of the majority. By prioritizing teacher training in Indigenous languages and fostering partnerships with community leaders, public schools can become hubs of decolonized learning, challenging the dominance of private institutions.
Private tutoring is another factor deepening the divide. Many public school teachers rely on tutoring to supplement their income, creating a parallel education economy that disadvantages the poor. Instead of addressing systemic inequalities, these practices further entrench them.
Embracing Multimodality and Indigenous Knowledge
Decolonizing literacy requires embracing multimodality—a framework valuing diverse ways of learning and communicating. African contexts are rich with oral traditions, visual storytelling, music, and dance, which are integral to knowledge transmission. Yet, these modalities are often excluded from formal education.
Programs like Nal’ibali (isiXhosa for “here’s the story”), a reading-for-enjoyment campaign, show the potential of multimodality. By publishing storybooks in multiple African languages and promoting oral storytelling, Nal’ibali bridges the gap between home and school, affirming children’s cultural identities. Another example is PRAESA (Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa), which integrates multilingual education and African oral traditions into early childhood programs.
For South Africa, adopting multimodal learning means fostering culturally confident children who can navigate global challenges while remaining grounded in their heritage. For the broader African child, this shift represents liberation from the cultural erasure imposed by colonial systems. A child fluent in isiXhosa proverbs or skilled in traditional music could excel in a decolonized classroom that values their knowledge systems, preparing them for innovative contributions to society.
Decolonizing Data in Early Childhood Development
Decolonizing literacy metrics involves rethinking how success is measured in Early Childhood Development. Current tools fail to capture South Africa’s linguistic and cultural diversity, reducing children’s potential to a narrow, colonial definition of literacy.
In a decolonized framework, assessments would evaluate:
- Oral literacy: A child’s ability to recount oral histories, interpret proverbs, or compose and narrate indigenous stories.
- Cultural fluency: Comprehension of traditional art, music, and symbols.
- Problem-solving: Communal approaches to addressing challenges, reflecting African values of Ubuntu.
These measures would reflect the richness of South African children’s lived experiences. For example, assessments could involve oral storytelling in isiZulu, where children recount folktales or create narratives reflecting community values. Success would no longer be defined by Western norms but by the child’s ability to thrive within their cultural context. This approach would empower Indigenous learners, affirm their identities, and foster pride in their heritage. For the South African child, it means an education system that recognizes their humanity and prepares them for a future rooted in their cultural realities.
A Radical Vision for the Future
Decolonizing South Africa’s literacy frameworks requires bold, practical steps:
- Scaling MTBBE nationally: Extend mother-tongue instruction through Grade 6, supported by comprehensive teacher training in indigenous languages.
- Developing decolonized curricula: Co-create syllabi with educators and traditional knowledge holders to integrate African histories, languages, and epistemologies.
- Transforming assessment tools: Replace Western metrics with culturally relevant, multimodal assessments.
- Investing in Indigenous resources: Produce textbooks, storybooks, and digital tools in African languages to support decolonized learning.
- Building community partnerships: Involve parents, elders, and community leaders in education policy making to ensure local relevance.
These steps envision an education system where every child’s identity is validated, their culture celebrated, and their potential realized. This is not a utopian dream but an achievable reality demonstrated by programs like Imbewu, Nal’ibali, and PRAESA.
The question is no longer whether we will decolonize literacy but how we will rise to the challenge. South Africa’s future—and the dignity of its children—depends on it.
The Authors:
Primary Author: Nkosana Sithole kaMiya is a Regional (Africa) Public Relations Officer for the International Association for Political Sciences Students (IAPSS-Africa) as well as a Research Fellow of the WITS Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) doing research under the “Violent State, State of Violence” project focusing on populism and its intersection with violence and the creation of the ‘political.’ He is also a GLUS Sue Ledwith awardee and Mellon Pipeline Development Program Research Fellow funded by Andrew. W. Mellon Foundation. His research interests are in the Intersectionality of Epidemics and Development, Decolonial Pedagogy, and Political Theory.
Co-Author: Athenkosi Mndende is a Research Associate and Lecture Assistant (Lexicography, Language Planning, and IsiXhosa Mother Tongue) at the School of Languages and Literatures: African Languages Department at Rhodes University. She is also a National Research Fund (NRF) Awardee under the SARChI Chair: Intellectualisation of African Languages, Multilingualism and Education for doctoral studies. Her research interests are Decolonial Pedagogy, Language Policy, Terminology Development for intellectualization, and Representation of African Languages in Digital Spaces.