Nod for German teaching in SA
Shadi Baloyi
2 April 2004
South Africa and Germany are exploring ways to strengthen collaboration in the fields of education and training.
Education Minister Kader Asmal met German Ambassador Anna Margaretta-Peters this week to review current programmes and discuss interventions to promote learning and teaching of the German language in South African schools.
It is part of the government's strategy to encourage the study of foreign languages in schools and higher learning institutions.
The German government supports 100 public schools and independent schools that teach German to over 13 000 learners in South Africa, and offers scholarships and exchange programmes for teachers and students. It also supports 57 cooperation agreements between local and German higher education institutions.
Asmal assured the ambassador and the German community of his continued support for German as a foreign language, adding that the language was part of the revised national
curriculum for grades 10 to 12.
Asmal said the collaboration would establish a stronger relationship between the German Abitur examinations and the new Further Education and Training Certificate, to be introduced in 2008.
The German government has offered to second subject advisers to the education department for a two-year period to provide academic support in compiling a comprehensive syllabus.
Source: BuaNews
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