Boosting the use of indigenous languages in Higher Education: Insights from the BAQONDE Project in South Africa

Through the lens of the BAQONDE project, this presentation delves into the challenges and opportunities posed by multilingualism in South Africa’s Higher Education system. This Capacity Building for Higher Education (CBHE) project brought together a consortium of seven universities from South Africa and Europe to advance the integration of indigenous languages at the tertiary level. In addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities inherent in this dynamic context, this perspective underscores the advantages of bridging the linguistic and educational experiences of minority language speakers across the Global North and South even within the broader context of academic decolonization (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2020). The project’s core principles of mutual trust, ownership, autonomy, and inclusivity are discussed as central elements in fostering new capacities tailored to the specificities and needs on the ground level. Finally, in line with the growing body of evidence highlighting the cognitive benefits of mother-tongue education (Antia, 2021), this presentation also discusses the resulting synergies in terms of training and dissemination, including the creation of an inter-institutional board and multilingual repository. These initiatives underscore the importance of accessibility and visibility in reaching out to both university and non-university students as well as teachers in earlier educational levels.

Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. (2020) Decolonization, Development and Knowledge in Africa: Turning over a New Leaf. London: Routledge.
Antia, B. E., Weldemichael, T., & Dyers, C. (2021). Multilingual assessment: Levelling the emotion- cognition playing field at a South African University. Language Matters, 52(1), 50– 70. https:// doi.org/ 10.1080/ 10228 195.2020.1839 539