The problematics of language-in-education policies in post-independence in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Language policies that are designed in African countries fail to solve communication problems because they are only there to fight the hegemony of English instead of addressing real linguistic problems. The paper analyses the language-in-education policies that were put in place after independence in Zimbabwe. A qualitative approach is used to analyse documents that include the Education Act of 1987, the Nziramasanga Commission, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education circulars and the Constitution of Zimbabwe. It is argued in this paper that there is a need for the country to come up with policies that are in sync with the linguistic realities that acknowledge the coexistence of languages.