PanSALB head takes Durban school to court

THE head of the Pan South African National Languages Board (PSANLB) Ntombenhle Nkosi has told the Durban Equality Court that Durban High School's language policy perpetuates domination of English and Afrikaans over indigenous languages.

Nkosi has taken the school, where her son is doing grade nine, to the Equality Court accusing it of teaching her son sub-standard Zulu. She appealed to newspapers not to name her son fearing that he might be victimized.

The school is defending its language policy.

Nkosi accused the school of imposing the learning of Afrikaans and English at a higher level than it is with Zulu.

"This policy is promoting the subjugation of indigenous languages in a very vicious way. Learners are taught what we call 'kitchen IsiZulu'," said Nkosi.

Durban high school teaches Zulu as a second additional language. The school's deputy principal David Wagner is expected to defend the school's policy when he takes the witness stand tomorrow.

Nkosi is a former teacher and she launched the complaint against the school last year.

When Nkosi's lawyer, Lerato Khoza, asked her during her evidence in chief, what she would she say if the school argued that it does not have resources to hire competent IsiZulu teachers, Nkosi said she would not take that.

She said the school would have to show evidence that it has actually applied to the education department for those teachers and was rejected.

"Fourteen years into democracy financial resources are being used as an excuse. Schools have not approached the department for more posts of indigenous language teachers, said Nkosi.

The trial continues.

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