Metaglossia: The Translation World

AfriqueLancement à Bamako du projet 'ELAN-Afrique' pour la promotion des langues nationales africaines - Les ministres de l’Education de plusieurs pays africains et l’Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) ont procédé, mercredi, à Bamako, au lancement du projet Ecole et langues nationales (ELAN-Afrique), visant à faire la promotion des langues nationales africaines à côté du français, a constaté la PANA.

Le projet, qui concerne le Bénin, le Burkina Faso, le Burundi, le Cameroun, le Niger, la RD Congo, le Sénégal et le Mali, s’inscrit dans une démarche de promotion et d’introduction de l’enseignement bilingue au primaire s’articulant autour d’une langue africaine et du français.: Promouvoir les langues nationales africaines...

Full bursary support for qualifying FET students has trebled since 2010, from R318 million to R1.2 billion. The DHET has also set aside a special bursary fund in the region of R77 million dedicated to supporting students with disabilities at universities and to cover their full cost of study.

Pampallis said the department had approached institutions to provide funds for those students whose families earn above the threshold but who also do not qualify for commercial loans.

Also on the cards for 2012 is further debate on the status and role of African languages in universities, the focus of a review panel appointed by the minister.

"The first step towards strengthening African language departments may be to make a second language compulsory for some students," said Pampallis. Some - but not all - universities are already doing this with respect to medical students and social work students.