3rd Vice-Chancellors’ Consultation Colloquium on the New Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions
On 5 and 6 December 2023, Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, senior university representatives, policymakers, and language experts from the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) and the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLAR) will assemble for the third and final Vice-Chancellors’ Language Policy Colloquium.
This in-person gathering will take place at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Senate Chamber in Westville Campus. Themed, Policy and Practice: Best Practices on the Implementation of Language Policy in Higher Education – Monitoring and Evaluation, delegates will provide insights based on experiences. These will illustrate effective measures that have assisted in aligning this policy and practice.
These engagements, spearheaded by USAf’s Community of Practice for Teaching and Learning of African Languages (CoPAL), with the support of the Teaching and Learning Strategy Group, have been instrumental in the operationalisation of this policy framework that came into effect in 2022.
While universities embrace the revised policy as it promotes linguistic diversity, inclusivity and equitable access to education, its meaningful implementation requires a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation approach that cuts across the intersection between policy and practice. Hence, the objectives of the Colloquium include the development of a model that will aid in this regard.
Thematic areas for this event will span four segments, namely:
- Best practices and progress being made
- Funding and resource-sharing models
- Models for capacity development
- Planning for impact, monitoring and evaluation.
USAf is committed to supporting universities in implementing multilingualism and recognise the importance of the country’s indigenous languages in learning and teaching to enhance student success and student-centredness.