Language specialist want Kiswahili to be compulsory in schools

Language specialist want Kiswahili to be compulsory in schools

Language specialist want Kiswahili to be compulsory in schools

Experts in Kiswahili in the nation are currently advocating for changes to the educational system that would require the language.

They contend that teaching the language in schools from kindergarten through university should be given priority.

This was revealed on April 6 during the Kiswahili experts round table held at Ufungamano House in Nairobi.

Advocates of Kiswahili claimed that the language has not received adequate weight in national affairs.

Yusuf Hassan, the MP for Kamukunji, stated that the government and experts ought to abandon the choice-based Kiswahili curriculum and mandate it for all students.

“We want the government to prioritize making Kiswahili a mandatory language in the nation through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD),” Hassan stated.

Experts maintain that requiring proficiency in Kiswahili will empower the next generation to communicate in polite and high-quality language.

“We cannot designate Kiswahili as a national language and then make it optional, given that nations like China, Japan, and the United States of America (USA) utilize and maintain their own educational systems in their native tongues,” stated Hassan.

Experts in language remarked that although UNESCO recognized July 7 as World Kiswahili Day, the government has not developed a plan to elevate its standing in line with other nations.

According to Prof. Kimani Njogu, it is East Africa’s responsibility to protect and advance Kiswahili.

Additionally, he urged the government to require Kiswahili assessments of foreign people applying for work permits in the nation, as is customary in European nations.

Simultaneously, the specialists tasked county administrations with devising strategies and setting up contests and prizes for the top Kiswahili poets and authors.

It was their request that President William Ruto read his addresses to the country in Kiswahili.