The Pan South African Language Board has noted the report submitted to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) during a committee meeting held on 2 December 2025, to review the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act and its associated regulations. During the deliberations, the DBE highlighted the growing trend of former Model C schools adopting English as an additional medium of instruction.
Whilst PanSALB acknowledges the demographic shifts driving these changes, PanSALB views this development not as a milestone for celebration, but as a clarion call to refocus our educational framework on the founding provision of multilingualism underscored in the constitution. The fallacy that English is an inclusive language in the country continues to disadvantage linguistic communities. Therefore, framing the introduction of English in Afrikaans schools as an unqualified positive step has the potential to overlook the deeper linguistic inequities that the hegemony of English perpetuates. The concerns raised by the portfolio committee regarding the slow implementation of language policies, particularly the integration of African languages in former Model C schools, are a critical matter that must be addressed and accelerated by the department.
Section 6 of the Constitution and the Use of Official Languages Act (No. 12 of 2012) obligate the government to promote the equal status of all 12 official languages, with particular emphasis on the development and preservation of previously marginalised indigenous languages, including the Khoe and San languages. In executing its constitutional mandate, PanSALB has submitted recommendations to the DBE on the BELA Act Regulations to operationalise language matters to ensure that learners belonging to the previously marginalised languages are able to exercise the same rights to their languages which are enjoyed by the English and Afrikaans speaking learners in South Africa’s public schools.
PanSALB calls on the DBE to consider its binding recommendations in terms of section 14c of the PanSALB Act, to revise the BELA Act Regulations explicitly and intentionally to ensure the furtherance of multilingualism in reflection of South Africa’s multilingual realities and facilitate the transformation and decolonisation of education in the country.
Furthermore, the portfolio committee raised critical issues surrounding the BELA regulations, which were made available only in English and Afrikaans, which further highlights the fact that African languages are always an afterthought within our government processes and education system. PanSALB urges the DBE, provincial education departments, and school governing bodies to pivot from English-centric adaptations towards robust implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) programme.
South Africa’s linguistic diversity is a national resource, and by prioritising Mother-Tongue-based Bilingual Education and giving indigenous languages full expression in former Model C schools, we can build an inclusive education system that truly reflects our diverse linguistic tapestry. PanSALB will continue to monitor the developments in the implementation of the BELA Act Regulations to ensure compliance with constitutional language obligations.
ABOUT PanSALB
The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) is a constitutional body mandated to create conditions for the recognition, implementation and furtherance of multilingualism in the Republic of South Africa, and the development of previously marginalised languages.
