Maths no longer required to train as indigenous language teacher

The government has scrapped mathematics as a requirement for people who want to train as secondary school teachers in indigenous languages.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Frederick Shava revealed this while speaking at the Hwange College of Education graduation ceremony on Tuesday, where about 143 students graduated, 73 of whom studied STEM subjects.

Shava said the policy shift is meant to broaden access to the teaching profession and increase the number of trainee teachers in indigenous languages.

“As part of the ministry’s policy to train secondary teachers for indigenous languages, I am pleased to announce that Mathematics is no longer a prerequisite,” said Shava.

“This deliberate policy shift is designed to widen access into the teaching profession and to strengthen the pool of trainees who can carry forward the teaching of our indigenous languages.”

Shava said the language policy was first introduced in Matabeleland North Province for ChiNambya and ChiTonga-speaking communities.

He said the ministry has since extended it to all indigenous languages in the country as provided for in the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 20, Act of 2013.

“It is encouraging to note that since inception in 2019, to this graduating cohort, the college has made significant inroads towards this language niche, producing the following statistics: ChiNambya, 13 males and 124 females, totalling 137 graduates, and in ChiTonga, 77 males and 112 females, totalling 189 graduates, a combined 326 graduates across both languages,” Shava said.

“This much-needed human capital is set to significantly impact the quality of instruction and the preservation of culture in ChiNambya and ChiTonga speaking communities.”

Shava said plans are already underway to introduce secondary teacher training specialising in indigenous languages, with the secondary school programmes running alongside the existing primary teacher training programme.

More: The Herald