Tanzania bans Swahili in its secondary schools, sets English as compulsory subject

Tanzanian students will commence learning in English, the government has announced.

The directive was issued by Benjamin Oganga, an officer attached to the Ministry of Education.

The Minister of Education explained that the English lessons will commence on January 9, 2022, with English Orientations for eight weeks, however, it will be implemented in Mara District.

This, he said, will help students have a better grip on the queen’s language.

“We’ve banned the use of Swahili in all our secondary schools. We need to ensure our students understand and are able to use English in accordance with the policies of Education,” he said.

The official expressed optimism the move will help students express themselves in English.

Tanzanian’s syllabus is mainly in Swahili with English as an optional subject.

Most subjects including Biology and Maths are taught in Swahili. This has led to challenges in communications and hampered international communication and trade as the country strives to interact with more than one billion global English speakers.

The move comes months after Abdulrahman Kinana the vice-Chairman of the Chama Cha Mwananchi (CCM)-Mainland while speaking during the World Kiswahili Day celebration shared that English remained the number one global language of business, industrialization, and digital transformation.

With over 200 million speakers, Kiswahili is one of the most widely used African languages, encompassing more than a dozen main dialects.

Over the centuries, this Bantu language has emerged as a common form of communication in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to the Middle East.