Mother-tongue learning gains ground as basic education expands bilingual education

As South Africa celebrates International Mother Language Day, the department of basic education says it has made steady progress in advancing mother-tongue-bilingual education across the country.

Mother-tongue based bilingual education (MTbBE) was first piloted in the Eastern Cape in 2012. Since then, learners who received instruction in their home languages have shown improved understanding and stronger performance in key subjects such as mathematics and natural sciences.

The department said these results confirm what research and communities have long known — that children learn better when they are taught in their mother tongue.

The department said this early transition placed learners who speak African indigenous languages at a disadvantage and negatively affected their academic.

“For many years, most learners in South Africa were required to switch too early to English or Afrikaans as languages of teaching and learning, often before they fully understood basic concepts,” it said.

In 2025, grade 4 learners wrote their mathematics examinations in their home language for the first time, through a bilingual examination format.

• The Eastern Cape wrote in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa and Sesotho;
• Free State in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga and Setswana;
• Gauteng in Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga;
• KwaZulu-Natal in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu and Sesotho;
• Limpopo in IsiNdebele, Tshivenda, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana and Xitsonga;
• Mpumalanga in Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati and Xitsonga;
• Northern Cape in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, Sesotho and Setswana;
• North West in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, Sesotho and Setswana; and
• Western Cape in Afrikaans, IsiXhosa and Sesotho.

The department said this was a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and fair education system.

The department said it will continue to expand the MTbBE programme to allow learners to continue to learning in their home language for longer while gradually building strong skills in English and other languages.

“This is a turning point in transforming the education system and restoring the status of African languages,” it said.

“Mother-tongue is not a barrier to success, but instead, it strengthens thinking skills, improves results in subjects like maths and science, and helps learners perform better in the long term,” the department said.

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