Article by Lyndon T. Nkomo
Trustee of Deaf Zimbabwe Trust
& IFSDZ
Section 2 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides as follows;
'This Constitution is the supreme law of Zimbabwe and any law, practice, custom or conduct inconsistent with it is invalid to the extend of that inconsistency.' This provision establishes the basis upon which all laws should be tested against the provisions of the Constitution.
Section 62 of the Education Act, herein after referred to as the 'Education Act', as it now stands is misaligned with the new Constitution because it trammels the provisions of Section 6 of the Constitution which list a number of languages as officially recognized languages in Zimbabwe including Sign Language.
Section 62 of the Education Act, provides that:
62 Languages to be taught in schools
(1) Subject to this section, the three main languages of
Zimbabwe, namely, Shona, Ndebele and English, shall be
Taught in all primary schools from the first grade as follows—
(a) Shona and English in all areas where the mother
Tongue of the majority of the residents is Shona; or
(b) Ndebele and English in all areas where the mother
Tongue of the majority of the residents is Ndebele.
(2) prior to the fourth grade, either of the languages
Referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) may be
Used as the medium of instruction, depending upon which
Language is more commonly spoken and better understood
By the pupils.
(3) From the fourth grade, English shall be the medium
Of instruction:
Provided that Shona or Ndebele shall be taught as subjects
On an equal-time-allocation basis as the English
Language.
(4) In areas where minority languages exist, the Minister
May authorize the teaching of such languages in primary
Schools in addition to those specified in subsections (1), (2)
And (3).
Our understanding of these provisions is that Shona, English and Ndebele are ranked as superior languages in the Zimbabwean education system and yet there are other languages recognized as official languages in Zimbabwe in terms of section 6 (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, in terms of section 6 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,
'The State and all its institutions and agencies of at every level must
Ensure that all officially recognized languages are treated equitably;...'
Section 62 of the Education Act fails the linguistic equity test referred to in section 6 (3) of the Constitution. It makes all other languages inferior to English, Ndebele and Shona and that falls foul of the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
This is why over the years Sign Language was not a recognized language of instruction in Zimbabwean schools and regrettably this situation has been perpetuated into the new Constitutional dispensation. Thus, the Education Act promoted and continues in its current form an oralist approach to the teaching of Deaf Children in schools. We have always argued that Sign Language is the natural language of Deaf people and to teach them using Ndebele, Shona or English inadvertently promotes academic genocide through oralism. These are oral languages in practice whereas sign language is visual in nature.
We also advise that whilst the linguistic and cultural rights of all Zimbabweans are secured under the provisions of section 63 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 62 of the Education Act is misaligned with the freedoms guaranteed in Section 63 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as it create linguistic inequity and discrimination by undue and unconstitutional preference of English, Shona and Ndebele as languages of instruction in Zimbabwean Schools.
Deaf people in Zimbabwe want Sign Language to be used as a language of instruction in Deaf Schools and this is consistent with the freedom guaranteed in Section 63 (a) of the Constitution which provides that
'Every person has a right
(a) to use the language of their choice; and...'
Sign Language is the language of choice for Deaf people.
Although the Minister has a discretion to authorize the use of minority languages as languages of instructions in schools under section 62 (4) of the Education Act, that discretion is unconstitutional in that none of the languages listed in Section 6 of the Constitution is classified as a minority language. The Constitution actually introduces the concept of linguistic equity by clearly stating that '...all officially recognized languages must be equally treated...'
Therefore, the discretion which the Minister had before the promulgation of the new Constitution is no longer constitutionally permissible. The languages listed in section 6 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe are all equal and must be used as languages of instruction in Zimbabwean Schools.
Therefore, we call upon the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs which is responsible for the realignment of the laws with the new Constitution to review the Education Act as matter of urgency as it is violating the constitutional rights of other people whose languages are neither English nor Shona nor Ndebele and in particular the Deaf people whose views we fully represent herein.
Deaf Zimbabwe Trust
29/01/2016
