ALL provincial education officers (PEOs) and district education board secretaries (DEBS) must ensure that throughout this year, every school in Zambia observes Monday of the last week of every month as a day to commemorate local languages as a way to promote our culture, the Minister of General education has directed.
Mr Mabumba said on such a day, leaners should be allowed at all levels to use their own mother tongue in and outside the classroom.
The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf by Director of Human Resource and Administration, Joshua Kamanya, at the launch of the International year of Indigenous Languages and commemoration of the International Mother Language Day at Lusaka Boys Secondary School.
Mr Mabumba said his Ministry was determined to ensure that the Zambia’s culture did not die.
He said government was determined to ensuring that the Zambian culture was preserved, adding that Zambia’s languages mattered for sustainable development, investment, peace building and reconciliation.
“It is in this regard that I wish to instruct all PEOs and DEBS to see to it that throughout this year, 2019, every school in this country that educates an African child observes Monday of the last week of every month as a day to allow learners use their own mother tongue in and outside the classroom,” Mr Mabumba instructed.
He also said teachers should endeavour to use a familiar Zambian language to conduct the teaching and learning in all the learning areas at all levels on such a day of transformative freedom.
Mr Mabumba said readings of poetry and extracts from novels, books and the Holy Bible written in Zambian language should be presented during assemblies and other relevant gatherings.
The Minister further implored parents to join in the effort of saving local languages as well as civilisation.
“Teach our children the history of our languages and educate them in ways that they can use and understand the syntax and morphology of our languages. Let us free our children from the suffering of a cultural and national identity crisis,” Mr Mabumba added.
And speaking at the same event, through Dr Samson Kantini, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azaoulay said every mother tongue deserved to be known, recognized and given greater prominence in all spheres of public life.
