Calls for Lesufi to focus on improving indigenous languages – SABC News [Video]

The Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries says while Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s proposal to introduce Swahili and Mandarin as subjects in public schools is progressive, it should not be the primary focus.

Lesufi’s proposal to teach these languages aims to equip students for a global economy, particularly in light of China’s growing economic influence.

The committee argues that the focus should instead be directed towards improving the country’s indigenous languages.

Committee Chairperson Makhi Feni says funds that would be allocated for the proposed programme should be invested in initiatives that equip young people with essential skills.

“There will be resources that are going to be utilised in enforcing the call. So, we are saying that those resources, those energies, everything that can be put in place, it must be utilised to ensure that the number that you are currently having with the skilled, we reskill them, you give them so that they can be able to go …