Durban, June 24: A proposal to remove various Indian languages from the school curriculum by 2006 has evoked strong protests among the 1.2 million Indian population in South Africa. The country's national Education Minister Kader Asmal has suggested that 18 foreign languages, including Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Gujerati and Urdu, be removed from the syllabus.
He, however, suggested that languages such as Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German be retained. A number of Indian language organisations, and religious and cultural groups have announced that they would fight the move all the way to the constitutional court.
The issue has also entered political circles with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) condemning the move, saying it would rob the Indian community of their rich culture. An IFP member of the provincial parliament in Kwazulu-Natal, Lauretta Ngcobo, said the move would undermine the Indian "intellectual and economic" contribution made to the province and the country.
"South African Indians have been in the country since 1840 and they constitute the largest population in the province. They have contributed to the economy, intellectual and cultural development of the province," she said. Bureau Report