Teaching home languages cannot be outscourced, says new Nal'ibali head

A Ngcobo-born teacher who has assumed the role of CEO of a prominent national non-profit organisation wants every child in SA to be proficient in their native language.

Yandiswa Xhakaza, 32, a former school principal and founder of Arrow Academy Private School in Gauteng, was appointed to the top position at the Nal’ibali organisation effective on May 4.

Xhakaza is an educationist, businesswoman, and Wits University B.Ed graduate.

For Xhakaza, schools come first and ensuring children are able to read, diversifying the programmes offered by Nal’ibali and embedding a reading culture in children in their home languages is her mission in her new role.

“My philosophy is that education is one of the most important things that will move you from a particular social status to another. I joined Nal’ibali because reading is the prerequisite to learning. My entire life is dedicated towards helping children to be able to read to be successful in schools, with the hope that they will be successful in life,” Xhakaza said.

That philosophy is one she applies in her home with her three children, and she believes teaching children home languages cannot be outsourced to schools.

“What I particularly bring to Nal’ibali is the link between where I come from and the organisation. I’ve led innovation and creativity because we live in a different time and we need to change how we do things.

“Most importantly for me is who we are doing this for, which are the children. We want to reach children but with the particular purpose to make sure that they succeed in their schooling and give them a fighting chance to better their lives,” she said.

The University of Pretoria MBA graduate, who looks forward to learning and contributing her acquired knowledge in her new position, said education propelled her to where she is today.

“It’s very important that children are able to read because the sad thing is that if a family has less than 20 children’s  books, that child is not adequately well read. We need to get children’s books, but besides filling the shelves, we need to teach them how to read.

“When children study in their home languages, they are able to succeed later on when other languages are introduced. That is why we are big on home languages.”

As the country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic, Xhakaza said they had programmes to ensure that reading continued. Short stories are broadcast by more than 10 SABC radio stations.

“We are working with NGO food parcel distributors to attach books along with the parcels. We are using different channels and leveraging partnerships to deliver reading supplements in different areas.

“These days people can be many things, but school can never go out of fashion. I want to encourage even the young adults to prioritise education and to be intentional about their vision.”