Minister Gwarube hails start of Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education assessments

Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, has welcomed the start of the historic Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education (MTbBE) Grade 4 assessments in Natural Science and Technology and Mathematics. The Western Cape observes 187 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, and Sesotho.

The Department of Basic Education confirmed a total of 11,948 schools across all nine provinces are implementing Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education this year.

According to the Department of Education (DBE), these schools reflect the rich linguistic diversity of South Africa and demonstrate a national commitment to harnessing the power of language for educational success.

The provincial breakdown is as follows:

• Eastern Cape: 3,860 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, and Sesotho

• KwaZulu-Natal: 3,558 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, and Sesotho

* Limpopo: 2,229 schools offering IsiNdebele, Tshivenda, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana, and Xitsonga

• Mpumalanga: 768 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, and Xitsonga

• North West: 950 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, and Setswana

• Free State: 204 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga, and Setswana

• Northern Cape: 172 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, Sesotho, and Setswana

• Western Cape: 187 schools offering Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, and Sesotho

• Gauteng: 20 schools offering all 11 official languages: Afrikaans, IsiNdebele, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga

The department said these assessments mark a critical step in South Africa's effort to strengthen foundational learning, improve comprehension, and create a more equitable education system. MTbBE—teaching and assessing learners in their home language alongside English—is designed to deepen concept mastery and support better literacy and numeracy outcomes.

The Minister emphasised that this initiative is central to the Department’s long-term strategy to reverse learning losses, strengthen reading and mathematics performance, and ensure that every child in South Africa learns in a language they fully understand, particularly in the early grades.

“Mother-tongue instruction is one of the most powerful tools available to improve learning outcomes. When learners understand the language of teaching and learning, they engage more confidently, grasp concepts more deeply, and progress more successfully through the system,” said Minister Gwarube.

“This work is part of our broader commitment to ensuring that every child is supported to read for meaning and to excel in mathematics and science. MTbBE is intended to strengthen the bridge between home and school, and today’s assessments demonstrate the progress we are making in restoring dignity and confidence in our classrooms.”

The Department said it would continue expanding the MTbBE programme, improving teacher training, and developing high-quality learning and assessment materials in all official languages.

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