SPU’s Faculty of Education hosted the African Languages and Cultural Heritage Symposium on 3 October 2025, bringing together educators, language experts, researchers and cultural advocates to engage on the future of African languages in education.
Delivering her Opening Address virtually, Professor Boitumelo Diale, Dean of the Faculty of Education at SPU, laid the foundation for the day’s conversations. Drawing inspiration from the historic I Am an African speech, she reminded participants that African languages are not merely academic subjects. They are vessels of memory, dignity and belonging.
Prof Diale acknowledged the paradox of South Africa’s multilingual landscape. While policy recognises 11 official languages, African languages continue to be marginalised in institutions of learning, business and science. She called for collective responsibility across universities, government and the private sector to protect and promote African languages in real, practical ways.
Her address set a clear tone. Heritage is not a theme to be celebrated once a year, but a living commitment that demands action in classrooms, communities and corridors of power.
Following the Opening Address, Dr Raymond Fru, Senior Lecturer in History and Social Science Teaching and Head of the Department of Human Science Teaching, reflected on the marginalisation of African languages in South African classrooms and institutions. He called on participants to move from rhetoric to reality and urged educators to return to the languages in which they think and feel most deeply. In the keynote address, Mr Boichoko Moremi, Senior Provincial Manager at the Pan South African Language Board, emphasised the need for multilingual policies, institutional translation support, and meaningful collaboration between schools and universities to safeguard linguistic rights and promote language justice.
Throughout the day, speakers shared knowledge and strategies to strengthen the place of African languages in schools and universities. Presenters reflected on the cognitive, social and cultural value of mother tongue instruction and its impact on learner success and national transformation.
The panel under the theme Why Native Languages Matter featured presenters such as Dr Dlavane, Director of the Centre for African Language Teaching from North West University; Prof Saule, novelist, writer and an academic from Rhodes University; Prof Teise, Director of the Centre for Creative Writing and African Studies from Sol Plaatje University; and Dr Mbude-Mehana, Deputy Director-General for Transformation Programs at the Department of Basic Education. Each speaker highlighted that native languages are more than tools for communication. They are deeply embedded in identity, culture and community memory. When learners are taught in their own languages, they build stronger thinking skills, confidence and connection to who they are.
In her closing remarks, Ms Bonny Mookapilo, Setswana lecturer in the Faculty of Education, thanked all who contributed to the day’s meaningful engagements. She proposed that the symposium become an annual event to sustain the dialogue and strengthen efforts to revitalise African languages and cultural knowledge in education.
The symposium affirmed a powerful truth. Language is not a side issue in education. It is at the heart of how we learn, how we lead and how we define who we are.
