Decolonising Indigenous Languages Offering in Part-Time Senior Secondary Teacher Education: A Case of the University of Namibia

Mohammed Ntshangase; Lukas Matati Joshua; Leader Hilongwa

doi:10.18535/sshj.v10i01.2166

Abstract

Since the advent of Western education in Africa, there has been unchallenged epistemicide, linguicide, and the cult of indigenous language teaching in the African educational systems, and Namibia is no exception. The purpose of this paper was to highlight the contribution that distance teacher training has made to the preservation of indigenous languages. The paper is oriented towards the following objectives: to determine whether the University of Namibia contributes to the pedagogy of indigenous languages in the Namibian senior secondary school curriculum and to assess the effects of the relegation of indigenous languages to the periphery of other languages. In order to collect data, a critical reflection is carried out on the documents related to the enrollment of part-time learning for the indigenous language teachers for senior secondary school in the distance mode and the literature used. The article concluded that there is widespread alienation of African indigenous languages in the teacher education system. Therefore, it is recommended to reclaim indigenous languages from the periphery and move them towards the center in higher education so that these languages are preserved.

Keywords

scientific managementhigher education reformgovernanceVietnamese universitiesperformance measurementfaculty perceptioninstitutional change

References

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[refR-2] Auala, R. (1989). Supervision for Educational Excellence. ELOC Printing Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Chavez, A. (2016). Rights in Education and Self-Identity: Education and Language of Instruction in Namibia. International Education Studies, 9, 189-196.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] Chikoko, V. (2021). “Re-Visiting the Decolonising of South African Higher Education Question: A Systematic Literature Review”. South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(1), 21-36.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] Cini, L. (2019). Disrupting the neoliberal university in South Africa: The #FeesMustFall movement in 2015. Current Sociology, 67(7), 942-959.;Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Costandius, E., Blackie, M., Nell, I., Malgas, R., Alexander, N., Setati, E., & Mckay, M. (2023). # FeesMustFall and decolonising the curriculum: Stellenbosch University students’ and lecturers’ reactions. South African Journal of Higher Education, 32(2).Google Scholar ↗

[refR-7] De Klerk, F. (2012, July 04). FW de Klerk Foundation: Statement by FW de Klerk, on the future of Afrikaans in SA and Namibia . Polity.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Ellis, J. (1984). Education, Repression and Liberation: Namibia. World University Service.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Ferreira, A. (2005, April 27). Afrikaners Celebrate Language amidst Fears. The Namibian.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Gribanovskaya, I. S. (2020). Some peculiarities of the English language in the Republic of Namibia. In Functional aspects of Intercultural communication. Translation and interpreting issues (pp. 374-379).Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-12] Heleta, S. (2016). ‘Decolonisation of Higher Education: Dismantling Epistemic Violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa’. Transformation in Higher Education, 1(1 a9).Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Iipinge, K., & Banda, F. (2020). Language ideology, policy and classroom practices in Oshiwambo speaking areas, Northern Namibia. Multilingual Margins, 7(3), 14–32.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-14] Iipinge, K., & De Galbert, P. (2023). Namibia in its thirties: Reviewing the choice of English as sole official language. JULACE: Journal of the University of Namibia Language Centre, 8(1 and 2), 58-74.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-15] Josua, L. M., Auala, R. K., & Miranda, H. (2022). Chronicle of Basic Education Curriculum Transformations in Pre-and Post-Independent Namibia: A Responsiveness Perspective. Creative Education, 13(4), 1154-1169.Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-17] Khanyile, B. (2020). Violences in the South African student movement. In The Oxford Handbook of Global South Youth Studies.;Google Scholar ↗

[refR-18] Kirchner, E. (2015). Analysing EMIS Data: The Case of Afrikaans. Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(1), 51-57.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-19] Kujeke, M. (2016). Violence and the #FeesMustFall movement at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. An analysis of the# FeesMustFall Movement at South African University, 83-96.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-20] Mampane, R., Omidire, M., & Aluko, F. (2018). 'Decolonising Higher Education in Africa : Arriving at a Glocal Solution. South African Journal of Education, 38(4), 1-9.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] Masenya, M. J. (2021). Toward a relevant de-colonized curriculum in South Africa: Suggestions for a way forward. SAGE Open, 11(4), 21582440211052559.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-22] Matengu, M. (2020). Towards just pre-primary education in rural Namibia [Unpublished doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis]. University of Oulu.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-23] Mbhele, S. S. (2020). Prospects, opportunities and challenges of a decolonial curriculum in South Africa (Doctoral dissertation, Master Thesis. School of Built Environment and Development Studies Faculty of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus Durban, South Africa).Google Scholar ↗

[refR-24] Mheta, G., Lungu, B., & Govender, T. (2018). Decolonisation of the Curriculum: A Case Study of the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 38(4), 1-7.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-25] Namibia Statistics Agency. (2011). Namibia 2011 Population and Housing Census Main Report. Namibia Statistics Agency.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-26] Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. (2018). Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and Decolonization. Routledge.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-27] Ngũgĩ, T. (1986). Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. J. Currey.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-28] Oliver, E., & Oliver, W. (2017). ‘The Colonisation of South Africa: A Unique Case’. HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies, 73(3), a4498. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4498DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-29] Santos, B. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide. Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-30] Shangula, K. (2020). Journey into the Unknown. Kuiseb Publishers.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-31] Stell, G. (2021). English in Namibia: A socio-historical account. In A. Schröder (Ed.), The dynamics of English in Namibia: Perspectives on an emerging variety (pp. 21–41). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g65.02steDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

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[refR-33] University of Namibia (UNAM). (2021). Centre for Open, Distance and eLearning Prospectus. Centre for Open, Distance and e-Learning, University of Namibia.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-34] University of Namibia. (2025). School of Education Prospectus. University of Namibia.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-35] Willemse, H. (2019). The hidden histories of Afrikaans. In Whiteness Afrikaans Afrikaners: Addressing Post-Apartheid Legacies, Privileges and Burdens (pp. 115–130).Google Scholar ↗