Amanzimtoti deaf school delighted at SASL’s home language status
Deaf learners in South Africa can at last exercise their rights to be taught and assessed in their own language.
SOUTH African Sign Language (SASL) has now officially been recognised as a home language in the country’s education system.
Deaf learners in South Africa no longer need to feel like foreigners in their own country and can at last exercise their rights to be taught and assessed in their own language.
“It is a source of great elation for all in the education sector that SASL is finally being recognised as part of the overt curriculum – as it always should have been‚” said Umalusi Council spokesman Lucky Ditaunyane. Umalusi is the council for quality assurance in general and further education and training.
“This may be a bigger step than many people realise‚ for in recognising SASL as a home language in our education system‚ the system is by implication recognising deaf culture as a fundamental part of South African culture,” said Ditaunyane.
Read also: Talk Sign project aims to bridge divide with the deaf
On Friday, 2 March Umalusi released a report of its research study on the inclusion of SASL in the curriculum as one of the examinable subjects for the National Senior Certificate (NSC).
The study encompassed an understanding as to how deaf learners are assessed as well as the kind of resources and materials required for assessment‚ including identifying potential national moderators and evaluators.
“We at the Durban School for the Hearing Impaired are extremely excited about SASL being recognised as a home language at last. It is the fruit of many years of dedicated service to the cause. This serves as a huge barrier being removed from the lives of the deaf and means they can finally reach their goals and be seen for their own worth,” said Head of Department of DSHI, Sharda Naidoo.
Chairman of Umalusi council, Professor John Volmink announced, on the release of the study’s findings and final decision, that the system has fully embraced deaf learners‚ that their language is valued and respected‚ and that they now have the opportunity to learn and study and be tested through the medium of their home language.
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