The case against bilingual and multilingual education in South Africa : laying bare the myths : Many languages in education : issues of implementation

The issue of language in education in South Africa at the turn of the millennium remains contested. Apartheid language-in-education policy infused with unequal language proficiency demands for school pupils in the country was replaced in 1997 with a new policy based on non-discriminatory language use and the internationally accepted principle of mother-tongue education in the context of a bilingual or multilingual framework. It was designed to secure mother-tongue (L1) maintenance, proficiency in a second language (L2) (English for the majority of pupils) and optimal cognitive development. The policy has not been accompanied or followed by any significant government initiated implementation plan. It has, however, been met with several arguments against its implementation and these have found their way into publications which have been used to deflect government's responsibility regarding implementation. Whilst government remains inert on the matter, the discriminatory policy of the former apartheid government continues, by default, to be practiced in schools.