‘We cannot dismiss the English language’

Professor John Makhene, retired professor and former vice chancellor of the University of Bophuthaswana, spoke to Urban News about the low graduate success rate among black students compared to their fellow white students.

He said only 30% of black students who enrol in first year of university graduate, whilst 90% of white students who enrol in the first year make it to graduation.

Makhene says he feels that part of the reason for the low success among black students is comprehension.  

“Many black students enter university with little understanding of the English language. The medium of instruction in most universities is English, meaning that students need to understand the English language in order to excel in their studies,” he said.

Makhene added that he has had discussions with several lectures who say that in many cases black students don’t do well in their studies this mainly attributed to comprehension. 

He said students who from schools were they were taught mainly in vernacular find it difficult to adjust when they get to University where the medium of instruction is English.

“Many students end up falling behind in their work due to lack of comprehension. It is important to understand what the lecturer is saying in order to do well in your studies. White students perform better not because they are more intelligent but because English is their first language,” he said.

Makhene added that some students even end up dropping out because of the pressure of keeping up with their fellow English speaking students.

He suggested that teachers in township schools need to be up skilled.

He said that it is up to teachers from primary school to instil a good foundation of communicating in English.

He added that black pupils need to be able to articulate themselves in English confidently without holding back and this cannot happen when they are in university, but should happen while they are still in school.

“We cannot dismiss the English language  we are living in the global world and English is internationally understood,” said the professor.