Despite many recent improvements, most San lack significant levels of formal education. Studies suggest that only 25 to 47 per cent of San throughout the region are literate, and that school enrolment is as low as 25 to 35 per cent. Drop out rates are severe, especially during or just after primary school and only a handful San make it to tertiary education. Specific challenges include bullying, poverty, child labour, teenage pregnancy and language issues. Mother-tongue learning - associated with higher retention rates particularly in the lower years - is limited for most San languages. Where it is not precluded by government policy, challenges for mother tongue arise from lack of materials, lack of a standardised linguistic orthographies and a lack of teachers available to teach in mother-tongue.
WIMSA’s education programme focuses on bringing together governments, communities and other stakeholders to find regional solutions to San education problems. Activities include: - Monitoring the status of San education in the region.
- Documenting innovative approaches to San education.
- Coordinating San language development.
- Providing platforms for regional exchange among policy makers.
Achievements:Research: In-depth research into the educational situation of San children in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa culminated in the production of the report ‘Torn Apart’. Consultations about the report’s findings led to the First Regional San Education Conference in 2001.
Educational Networking: WIMSA has organised two regional San education meetings involving San stakeholders and the ministries of education of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. These allowed the exchange of information and ideas on San education and promoted the innovative solutions to San education problems. Efforts to establish and sustain a permanent government-stakeholder coordination forum on San education are ongoing.
Mother tongue education & Language Development: Due to the work of WIMSA and its development partners, the Namibian Ministry of Education introduced Ju’|hoan as a language of instruction in grades 1-3 in Namibia. The Ministry has also embarked on adult literacy programmes in Khwedam.
WIMSA has promoted close cooperation and sharing of information and literacy materials. In June 2005, in collaboration with the Kuru Family of Organisations ( KFO ) and the Universities of Botswana and Tromsø, a ‘Regional Mother Tongue Conference' was held in Gabarone, Botswana. The report of the conference, designed to also be used as a ‘good practice manual' was published by WIMSA in early 2006 and incorporates relevant research and findings from previous events organised by WIMSA.
Through the ‘Penduka' (2001) and ‘Penduka II' (2004) conferences held in Namibia, WIMSA provided a forum for San language activists to resolve a number of issues relating to language standardisation and orthography.
WIMSA has supported the work of several community-based language committees to produce education materials and formalise their own written languages.
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