Date Of Article: 4/5/2002
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Chichewa gives Malawians identity
By: Raphael Mweninguwe
Many private schools do not teach Chichewa. This is feared to be gradually eroding the country’s identity and, is not doing justice to students, for they shall need Chichewa later in life. Raphael Mweninguwe talked to some stakeholders on the issue, and he writes: James Matekenya has two of his three children at a private school where they have been learning for the past six years since nursery. At the school the children are not taught Chichewa, on of Malawi’s official local languages because the school follows the British syllabus. Those pupils who want to learn Chichewa do so on part-time basis, but most pupils are not interested in the language. On visiting the Matekenya family, one should be prepared to speak English to the kids because they hardly speak Chichewa. In fact the children are not to blame because according to Matekenya that is what he wants his children to do—speak good English. Matekenya, says he is proud that his children speak good English and hopes that they will make it to secondary school and, finally reach university. “You know most of the university students fail to express themselves in English. They cannot even write good English because of the kind of teachers they have had starting from primary school,” he says. But Matekenya admits that there is need for “our children to learn Chichewa” for fear of losing the nation’s identity. Matekenya who has travelled widely gives an example of Denmark, where he says Danish is the teaching language. George Jobe, communications director for Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (Creccom), but speaking as a parent, agrees that Chichewa should be taught in “our private schools, where local syllabus is followed” to avoid losing the country’s cultural identity. “How are our children going to know our Chichewa proverbs if they are not taught the language in schools?” he asks. Jobe says children should be taught Chichewa from nursery school up to secondary school. This, he says, will help promote Malawi’s cultural tradition as many Malawians will be identified with the language. Steve Bombeya is another parent who advocates for Chichewa language to be taught in private schools as well, which he says are losing direction. “In addition to other languages these private schools should include Chichewa on their syllabus,” he says. Bombeya believes that many businessmen have taken advantage of laxity of the education system to open private schools where Chichewa is not regarded as an important subject. “Private schools are welcome but should not regard Chichewa as an optional subject. It is an important subject which must be taught at all levels,” he says. Most pupils who are learning in private schools speak good English, of course, unlike their counterparts in government schools where the standards have declined significantly. Bombeya says there are many people, who after graduating at different education levels work with NGOs in rural areas, where it is vital to communicate in Chichewa. “If these people never learnt Chi-chewa, how are they going to work with people in the rural areas?” he wonders. Saizi Mbewe, headmaster at Khalidwe Private School in Blantyre says while his school follows the local syllabus—with Chichewa as a must, he agrees with those supporting Chichewa to be taught in private schools. “Unless you are following an international syllabus, there is no justification of failing to teach your pupils the local language,” he says. Mbewe, whose school teaches Chichewa from nursery level, says it is wrong for some private schools not to teach this language, because “as a country we have an identity”. “Our identity is the language. If you are out of the country and meet someone who speaks the language people will identify you as Malawian because of the language,” he says. For some private schools Chichewa is taught because pupils sit for the Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) examinations. But for others Chichewa is not compulsory, especially at primary level. The coming in of private schools in the country has put the Ministry of Education at crossroads. Deputy Director for Basic Education in the ministry of education McKnight Kalanda says the ministry has embarked on a curriculum development project in which issues of the language would be addressed. He admits that there is, indeed, a problem and says that as the curriculum is being reviewed the issue will be discussed by all stake-holders. “Chichewa is a must except in international schools where their syllabus is different from ours. It is up to us as a nation to balance the two,” he says. “As a nation,” he says, “we should ask ourselves what we like our kids to learn in schools?” According to Kalanda, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to make sure that children get good education.
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