THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LRDCs PRESENTATION BY DR N MGIJIMA BRIEFING THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE 7 JUNE 2005

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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LRDCsPRESENTATION
BY DR N MGIJIMABRIEFING THE PORTFOLIO
COMMITTEE7 JUNE 2005
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STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATION

• Introduction
• Language Research and Development Centres (Broad
  Concept)
• Hosting institutions and challenges
• Mandate/ specific objectives
• Scope of operations
• Staffing, Management Structures and reporting
• The role of the PLUs and other role-players
• Envisaged spin-offs
• Future plans
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Establishment of LRDCs is the brainchild of the
  former Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr Ben
  Ngubane (dates back to 1997)
• The initiative was proposed with a view to giving
  impetus to the implementation of the NLPF
• Also regarded as a means to give effect to the
  constitutional requirement that the State must
  take practical measures to elevate the status
  and advance the usage of the previously
  marginalized official languages
• Following extensive consultations with provinces
  and the hosting institutions, the LRDCs were
  officially launched in Durban on 30 March 2004
  along with two other significant DAC language
  initiatives, via the bursary scheme for
  post-graduate language studies and the HLT Unit.

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Language Research and Development Centres (the
broad concept)

• LRDCs envisaged to form the backbone of the
  institutional infrastructure required for
  successful implementation of the NLPF, especially
  at the provincial level.
• A total of nine LRDCs (one per language) have
  been established
• LRDCs aim to ensure proper synergy and
  coordination of all activities that are meant to
  support and contribute to the implementation of
  the policy of multilingualism across the country.
• It is envisaged that all key-role players will
  accept joint responsibility for overseeing the
  implementation of a multifaceted research and
  development programme that will seek to achieve a
  high degree of multilingualism.
• Confident that LRDCs will benefit tremendously
  from the capacity and expertise that already
  exist in the individual institutions of higher
  learning (hosting institutions).
• To be located within the provinces so as to be
  closer to the custodians of the indigenous
  languages
• To be instituted as a three-year pilot project
  (2004 2006)

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Hosting institutions and challenges

• To be hosted by institutions that are
  collaborating with DAC in terminology development
  projects, and those are
• UNIN Sepedi
• UFS Sesotho
• UNW Setswana)
• TUT (Nelspruit campus) siSwati (serious
  challenges)
• Ndebele College of Education isiNdebele (serious
  challenges)
• UNIVEN Tshivenda
• Tivumbeni Multipurpose Centre of Education
  Xitsonga
• UPE IsiXhosa
• UNIZUL IsiZulu
• DAC enters into a Memorandum of Agreement
  (contract) (valid for a period of three years)
  with each hosting institution
• MOAs will go along with annexures such as the
  Terms of Reference
• Institutions have demonstrated unequivocal
  willingness and determination to make this
  initiative a success

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Hosting institutions and challenges continued

• Most institutions are ready but the extent of
  readiness (infrastructure and human capacity)
  varies from one institution to another
• Isolated cases TUT for siSwati Ndebele College
  of Education for isiNdebele Tivumbeni
  Multipurpose Centre of Education for Xitsonga
• TUT does not offer siSwati degree programmes and
  as such has a serious lack of support structure
  and academic capacity
• Ndebele College of Education lacks human
  capacity and autonomous status (it is neither an
  autonomous institution nor a satellite campus of
  UP). It is a government institution falls under
  DoE.
• Several meetings to resolve Mpumalanga problem
  (SiSwati and isiNdebele) have been held.
  Meetings comprised broad forum/meeting (national
  and provincial level) comprising all stakeholders
  or representatives thereof, the provincial MECs
  and HODs for the departments of Arts and Culture
  and Education, and senior managers from DAC.
• Tivumbeni Multipurpose Centre to share
  responsibilities and resources with UNIN. UNIN
  will handle the administration of Xitsonga LRDC,
  but the physical facility will be based at
  Tivumbeni

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Hosting institutions and challenges continued

• DAC has seconded an official from NLS to assist
  in the establishment of both the Siswati and
  isiNdebele LRDCs

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Mandate/specific objectives

• The objectives are, among others, to
• Develop the official indigenous languages to
  ensure their public usage in such fields as law,
  commerce, science, politics, etc.
• Encourage and support language research that is
  responsive to the needs of language users and
  decision-makers
• Streamline activities and enhance coordination
  across all units and committees involved in
  language development work at provincial level to
  avoid duplication of effort and wastage of
  resources
• Facilitate initiatives that promote creative
  writing in African languages
• Advise on programmes that will attract more
  students to study African languages at tertiary
  level

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Scope of operations/sub-units

• Language enhancement with special reference to
  the provision of academic training of language
  practitioners in a variety of domains such as
  terminology development, translation and editing,
  interpreting and human language technologies
• Support of language-related research This will
  include research projects that are related to the
  needs of the public and private sector and the
  setting up of research databases.
• Promotion of reading and writing in African
  languages This will be achieved through
  establishing collaboration with writers
  associations or idividual authors encouraging
  journalistic careers through language awareness
  campaigns involving media in planning and
  organising competitions encouraging print media
  to publish some newspapers /sections of
  newspapers in more than one official language
  etc.
• Heritage and museums Focus will be on
  documenting stories, folktales, legends, idioms,
  etc. and contribution of oral heritage to
  history.
• Community Outreach LRDCs will initiate outreach
  programmes in literacy training offer basic
  language courses to non-speakers of african
  languages and promote the study of african
  languages in tertiary institutions

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Staffing, Management structure(s) and reporting

• Core staff comprise
• - Centre Manager
• - Secretary
• - Coordinators for each sub-unit
• - Researcher for each sub-unit
• Centre Management Committee consisting of
• Centre Manager
• Academic Registrar
• Head of Department or School of African Languages
• Chief Financial Officer (of the institution)
• Senate/Council member
• One Senior Lecturer/and /or one Professor the
  Department/School of Language/Faculty of
  Arts/Humanities
• Head of the Provincial Language Unit
• A representative from a structure of PanSALB
• The Centre Management Committee will be
  accountable to the National Advisory Committee
  to be formally established within a year. A
  formal and transparent process of nomination and
  appointment will be followed. In the meantime DAC
  and the CMC will manage all matters relating to
  LRDCs.
• Centres will submit quarterly and annual reports
  to DAC

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Role of PLUs and and other role-players

• LRDCs will ensure collaboration with PanSALB
  structures such as PLCs, NLUs and NLBs and
  Hansards
• The Head of the PLU will ensure that the
  provincial MECs are fully apprised of the
  operations of the Centre and that provincial
  interests feature well in the activities of the
  LRDCs
• PLUs will assist LRDCs in networking with
  language stakeholders at provincial and local
  level, advise in areas of priority in language
  research and development, and monitor progress at
  the centres.
• Centre Managers and/or PLU representatives will
  report periodically to the National Language
  Forum (this body advises the Technical Committee
  and MINMEC on all language policy and
  implementation matters)

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Positive spin-offs

• Creation of jobs and thereby alleviating
  unemployment and poverty
• Deep-rooted negative attitudes towards indigenous
  African languages will change
• Promotion of functional multilingualism and
  enhancement of international relations and
  cooperation

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Future plans

• In the long run LRDCs will be expected to expand
  their activities and projects to rural areas by
  developing subcentres
• Depending on the success rate of projects and
  fund-raising, LRDCs stand the opportunity to
  exist permanently
• To achieve the above goal, LRDCs are encouraged
  to be self-supportive

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Conclusion

• Non-hosting institutions are encouraged to forge
  linkages and areas of cooperation with hosting
  institutions
• LRDCs are envisaged to be a great source of
  empowerment
• Public and private sectors are encouraged to
  promote the objectives of LRDCs
• All academic institutions are urged to render
  academic support and expertise to LRDCs