literacy, language, non-formal education in...
TRANSCRIPT
Literacy, Language, Non-Formal Education and Alternative Learning Opportunities in Southern Sudan
by Jaqueline Marshall
2nd Revision
18th September 2006
This report was commissioned by UNESCO Institute of Education, Hamburg
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Table of Contents
Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 7
1.1 Context of the study...................................................................................................... 7
1.2 Methodological approach ............................................................................................. 9
Chapter 2: Language in Education ..................................................................................... 11
2.1 Language in education policy..................................................................................... 11
2.1.1 Documents relating to language in education and language policy..................... 11
2.1.2 Languages and education policy: the legal context ............................................. 11
2.1.3 Language policy in education .............................................................................. 12
2.1.4 Language policy in schools.................................................................................. 13
2.1.5 Language policy in alternative education ............................................................ 14
2.1.6 The development of local languages.................................................................... 14
2.2 Overview of existing languages and their development as written languages ........... 15
2.2.1 The languages of Southern Sudan........................................................................ 15
2.2.2 History of language development ........................................................................ 16
2.2.3 Orthographies and printed materials available in local languages....................... 17
2.2.4 Teachers ............................................................................................................... 20
2.3 Overview of use of language ...................................................................................... 20
2.3.1 Geographic locations of language spoken ........................................................... 20
2.3.2 Multilingualism.................................................................................................... 23
2.3.3 Domains of language use ..................................................................................... 24
2.4 Overview of important actors and existing capacities in language development....... 27
2.4.1 Institutions and actors involved in language research and development ............. 27
2.4.2 Institutions and actors involved in the writing and printing of books ................. 29
2.4.3 Institutions supporting oral use of languages....................................................... 29
2.5 Use of languages as mediums of instruction in educational programs....................... 30
2.5.1 Use of languages in formal education.................................................................. 30
2.5.2 Use of languages in non-formal education .......................................................... 31
2.6 Conclusions with regard to language in education policy and non-formal education 49
Chapter 3: Literacy and Alternative Learning Opportunities............................................. 50
3.1 Recent history and current strategy and policy........................................................... 50
3.1.1 Alternative Learning Opportunities ..................................................................... 50
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3.1.2 An overview of the different types of AES programs running ............................ 51
3.1.3 Formal vs. non-formal education......................................................................... 52
3.2 Main target groups and their literacy and adult learning needs.................................. 53
3.2.1 Adolescents or adults who have missed education .............................................. 53
3.2.2 Women................................................................................................................. 54
3.2.3 Returning refugees or IDPs.................................................................................. 55
3.2.4 Demobilised soldiers............................................................................................ 55
3.2.5 Nomadic peoples.................................................................................................. 55
3.2.6 Disabled people.................................................................................................... 56
3.3 Overview of literacy and NFE programs.................................................................... 56
3.3.1 The languages and literacies offered in programs ............................................... 59
3.3.2 Good practice ....................................................................................................... 64
3.3.3 Culturally adapted curricula................................................................................. 65
3.3.4 Difficulties faced by programs............................................................................. 67
3.4 Conclusions with regard to literacy, language and alternative learning opportunities67
3.5 Recommendations for a strategy on literacy and alternative learning opportunities . 69
3.5.1 Program types and literacy methodologies .......................................................... 69
3.5.2 Capacity building and institutional development ................................................ 70
3.5.3 Language development ........................................................................................ 71
3.5.4 Materials development......................................................................................... 71
3.5.5 Coordination and information dissemination....................................................... 72
3.5.6 Curriculum development and standardisation...................................................... 72
3.5.7 MOEST ................................................................................................................ 73
3.5.8 Further research.................................................................................................... 73
Annex 1 List of those Contacted ........................................................................................ 77
Contact information for organisations .................................................................................. 77
Contact information for individuals...................................................................................... 79
Annex 2 Blank Organisational Questionnaire .................................................................... 81
Annex 3 Blank Questionnaire on Domains of Language Use............................................ 84
Annex 4 Completed Questionnaires on Domains of Language Use .................................. 86
Annex 5 Interview Guide Concerning Non-Formal Education and Languages................. 96
Annex 6 Detailed Data on Southern Sudanese languages ................................................ 100
Annex 7 Information Relating to Book Publishing in Southern Sudanese Languages .... 116
Information on New Day Publishers .................................................................................. 116
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Information on Bibles published in Southern Sudanese languages.................................... 118
Annex 8 Departments under the MOEST......................................................................... 119
List of Tables
Table 1 Role A and Role B languages of Southern Sudan ...................................................... 17
Table 2 Summary of materials in Southern Sudanese languages available from SIL ............. 18
Table 3 Overview of information from providers of non-formal education and literacy
programs............................................................................................................................ 34
Table 4 Sizes of a cross section of AES programs .................................................................. 58
Table 5 Statistics for Adult/ Adolescents Education from State Ministries of Education....... 59
Table 6 Types of language and literacy offered in non-formal programs ............................... 60
Table 7 Data on the languages of Southern Sudan ................................................................ 101
Table 8 Sudanese language relationships............................................................................... 112
Table 9 Indigenous Communities listed in the Southern Constitution .................................. 115
List of Maps
Map 1 The current states of Sudan............................................................................................. 8
Map 2 Locations of languages of Sudan.................................................................................. 22
Map 3 Ethnic Sub-Groups in Southern Sudan......................................................................... 23
List of Figures
Figure 1 Illustrations of languages used in different social domains....................................... 26
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Abbreviations
ACROSS Association of Christian Resource Organisations Serving Sudan
ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency
AET Africa Educational Trust
ALO Alternative Learning Opportunities
ALP Accelerated Learning Program
AES Alternative Education Systems
BWDA Bahr El-Ghazal Women’s Development Agency
BYDA Bahr El-Ghazal Youth Development Agency
CBO Community Based Organisation
CGS Community Girls’ School
CIRAC The International REFLECT Circle
CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement
CRS Catholic Relief Services
DEPHA Data Exchange Platform for the Horn of Africa
ECS Episcopal Church of Sudan
ERDF Education for Reconstruction and Development Forum
FAL Functional Adult Literacy
FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation
GOS Government of Sudan
GOSS Government of Southern Sudan
IDP Internally Displaced Person
IRL Institute of Regional Languages
JRS Jesuit Relief Services
LDP Literacy and Development Program
MOEST Ministry of Education Science and Technology (for Southern Sudan)
MT Mother tongue
MU Mothers’ Union
MULDP Mothers’ Union Literacy and Development Program
NESI New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs Network
NIL National Institute of Languages
NGO Non Governmental Organsation
NSCSE The New Sudan Centre for Statistics and Evaluation
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NSWF New Sudan Women’s Federation
OCHA Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
PLA Participatory Learning and Action
SBEP Sudan Basic Education Program
SC Save the Children
SEM Sudan Evangelical Mission
SIL Summer Institute of Linguistics
SIM Serving in Mission
SINGO Sudanese Indigenous NGO
SLC Sudan Literature Centre
SOE Secretariat of Education (for the former SPLA held areas of Southern
Sudan). This has become MOEST
SOLO Sudan Open Learning Organisation
SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army (military wing of the SPLM)
SPLM Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (political wing of the SPLA)
SSIRI Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction
SURDA Sudan Relief and Development Agency
UIE UNESCO Institute of Education
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
WBT Wycliffe Bible Translators
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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Context of the study
The context of this study is the recent Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005 between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A), the main rebel movement in the South, and the Government of Sudan (GOS). The SPLM is now part of the Government of National Unity, and has formed the core of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). GOSS is responsible for the administration of Southern Sudan including those areas that were previously under GOS control (e.g. garrison towns like Juba or Wau). The 20 year long war has left many, particularly those in the South, without any education. GOS statistics give the literacy rate of Sudan in 1998 as 57.2% though it is not clear whether this includes Southern Sudan or not (GOS Federal Ministry of Education and UNESCO 2005). The adult literacy rate for Southern Sudan is 24% (NSCSE 2004: 3). Given this, one of the seven sub-components of the Master Program for Reconstruction and Development of Basic Education in Sudan (GOS Federal Ministry of Education and UNESCO 2005) proposes the development of alternative learning opportunities for adults and adolescents. As a contribution towards this, UNESCO Institute of Education1 (UIE) has commissioned this research to form a building block to design a project proposal for literacy and alternative learning opportunities for adults and adolescents that takes into account the multilingual reality of Sudan and builds on current best practice. The author of this report, Jaqueline Marshall2, was commissioned by UIE to carry out the research, focusing on Southern Sudan only, during the period June- July 2006 inclusive. A parallel study is being done by a different researcher for Northern Sudan. Southern Sudan is made up of the ten states3:
• Western Bahr El-Ghazal
1 Part way through the research UIE changed its name to UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning, a name which better expresses its focus and aims as an institution. However for the purposes of this report, the author refers only to UIE. 2 Jaqueline Marshall’s contact details are: email: [email protected] address: SIL-Sudan, PO Box 750, Entebbe, Uganda. She works for SIL-Sudan in the field of literacy and bilingual education. SIL-Sudan is the Sudan branch of SIL International. SIL International is ‘a faith-based organisation that studies, documents, and assists in developing the world’s lesser-known languages. SIL’s staff shares a Christian commitment to service, academic excellence, and professional engagement through literacy, linguistics, translation, and other academic disciplines. SIL makes its services available to all without regard to religious belief, political ideology, gender, race, or ethnic background.’ (SIL 2005b) 3 In the terms of the CPA, Southern Sudan is the area that was defined as such at independence (1956). It does not include the contested regions of Abyei, Nuba Mountains or southern Blue Nile. (E.g. see ‘Agreement on Security arrangements during the interim period’, Sept 2003 (SPLM and GOS, 2003))
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• Northern Bahr El-Ghazal
• Warrap
• Unity
• Lakes
• Jonglei
• Upper Nile
• Eastern Equatoria
• Bahr El-Jebel (also referred to as Central Equatoria)
• Western Equatoria
Map 1 The current states of Sudan
(from Verney 1995)
UNESCO aims to implement programs through or with government organisations, NGOs and others. Thus, another building block towards the design of the project proposal focused on Southern Sudan will be a consultation with representatives of all the relevant stakeholders, in a workshop, currently scheduled for October 2006.
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The aims of the research were to meet the terms of reference as laid out by UIE. These are split into two areas: 1. Language and education 2. Literacy and alternative learning opportunities (1) covers language and education policy, the status of language development and resources available (materials, teachers, institutions) and the use of languages in education. (2) covers the identification of key players, best practice and the role of the languages in literacy, basic non-formal education and alternative education systems. These two areas, and their specific terms of reference, map closely onto Chapters 2 and 3 respectively and their sections. The relevant terms of reference are given at the beginning of each section.
1.2 Methodological approach
The author obtained the part time help of two other researchers:
• Kathryn Arden, Literacy Specialist for SIL-Sudan, based in Arua, Uganda4
• Scopas Elias, freelance Adult Education Consultant based in Nairobi, Kenya5 They helped with data collection and carried out some of the interviews. Kathryn Arden also played a part in the drafting of sections 2.1 and 2.2 of this report. The research approach was a combination of the following: 1. Literature and document review
The documents surveyed were largely reports or evaluations from the organisations involved in basic non-formal education or literacy programs in Southern Sudan. Also included were government statistics, policy documents, syllabus documents and reports.
2. A questionnaire sent to organisations involved in basic non-formal education and
literacy programs
The blank ‘Organisational Questionnaire’ is given in Annex 2 . The questionnaire was designed to address most of the terms of reference that could be answered by organisations without being too long. The questionnaire was sent to everyone on the Ministry of Education Science and Technology’s (MOEST) contact list for education partners. MOEST is the Ministry of Education for GOSS. It should be noted that the MOEST contact list includes many involved in formal education, though only those involved in non-formal basic education or adult literacy programs were asked to respond. Some others, mainly those with a link to community based literacy projects through SIL, were also contacted independently of this with the questionnaire.
4 Kathryn Arden’s contact details are: email: [email protected] telephone: 078 29 04 04 3 address: SIL, PO Box 415, Arua, Uganda 5 Scopas Elias’ contact details are: email: [email protected] telephone: 0722-649902 address: C/O MRDA, PO Box 60837, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya
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The completed Organisational Questionnaires are not included in this document, largely because it would have made the document too large.
3. Email discussion
This was used largely to follow up some areas in need of clarification after a completed ‘Organisational Questionnaire’ had been received.
4. Interviews with several different audiences: a) Representatives of organisations involved in adult education or literacy programs
Interviewees were mainly those involved in the planning or management of programs. The interviews were unstructured. If an organisational questionnaire had been filled in, the interview was used to follow up areas of uncertainty and for more discussion. If an organisational questionnaire had not been completed, then the kind of information asked for in the questionnaire was elicited from the interviewee.
Note the interviews were not taped so their write-ups were mainly a paraphrase or summary of what the interviewee said rather than an exact transcription. The interview write-ups are not included in this document, mainly because it would have made the document too large.
b) Individual Southern Sudanese The aim of these interviews was to obtain the views and perspectives of Southern Sudanese on alternative learning opportunities and the role or use of languages in a location in Southern Sudan familiar to them. These interviews were also unstructured with the ‘Interview Guide’, given in Annex 5, used as a guideline only. Depending on the time available not all questions were covered. Once again these write-ups are not included in this document.
Some involved in a) were also Southern Sudanese but the emphasis of those interviews was the work of particular organisations.
The ‘Language Domain Questionnaire’ given in Annex 3 was also used with this audience. This was used in a structured way. Sometimes the ‘Language Domain Questionnaire’ was used without a fuller interview, which took much longer. The domain questionnaire was also sent to a few people by email.
The completed Language Domain Questionnaires are given in Annex 4.
The interviews took place in the following locations: Entebbe (Uganda), Arua (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya) and Juba (Southern Sudan). All interviews were with those who knew English and were conducted in English. Those contacted in the course of this research are given in Annex 1. It was envisaged at the start of the research that there would be insufficient time to visit many classes. This turned out to be the case and only one literacy class in Juba was observed. A limitation of this research then, is that it is based on information given by program providers and not obtained from direct observation of the programs. Any views expressed in this report are those of the author alone, and should not be taken as representative of any organisation.
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Chapter 2: Language in Education
2.1 Language in education policy
Term of Reference: To identify and review existing documents on language in education and language policy in Sudan.
2.1.1 Documents relating to language in education and language policy
The documents consulted which form the basis for the discussion in the following subsections are listed below:
• Draft Constitutional Text of Sudan, dated 16th March 2005 (SPLM and GOS 2005). The implication of websites on which this was found was that this draft has become the Interim National Constitution of Sudan which was ratified on 8th July 2005 (Sudan Tribune 2005). It shall therefore be referred to below as the Interim National Constitution of Sudan. The term ‘interim’ is used to describe the period of 6 years, agreed upon in the CPA, which started in July 2005, after which there is to be a referendum to decide whether Southern Sudan will secede or not.
• Draft Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, dated 2005 (GOSS 2005). The implication of websites on which this was found was that this draft has become the Constitution of Southern Sudan which was ratified on 5th December 2005 (Misanet 2005). It shall therefore be referred to below as the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan.
• Syllabus for Primary Schools (for Southern Sudan) (SOE 2002a; SOE 2002b)
• Education Policy of the New Sudan and Implementation Guidelines (SPLM 2002)
• Ten Years of Partnership: IRL and SIL, 1977-1987 (IRL and SIL 1987)
• Final Report on Adult Literacy and Language (Part of UNESCO Sudan Basic Education Sector Analysis) (Aderinoye 2001)
• Minutes of a GOSS meeting of Education Ministers and Director Generals, April 2006 (MOEST, 2006a)
• Reconstruction and Development of Basic Education in Sudan, Education Workshop Report, 16-18 December 2003 (UNESCO 2003)
• Master Program for Reconstruction and Development of Basic Education in Sudan, Government of Sudan 2005-2010 (GOS Federal Ministry of Education and UNESCO 2005)
• The Potential Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Bilingual Education in Primary Schools in South Sudan (Marshall, 2005)
2.1.2 Languages and education policy: the legal context
The legal context for language policy is the Interim National Constitution of Sudan. This protects the worth of all languages and in paragraph (8.1) states that, ‘All indigenous languages of Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed and promoted.’ According to the constitution, people have the right to use their languages freely and should not be discriminated against because of language. The constitution lays down which language(s) should be used as the national language and as working languages in the government and in institutions of Higher Education: Arabic is the national language of Sudan, and Arabic and English shall be the official working languages of national government and
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the languages of instruction for Higher Education. It also states that in the legislature of any sub-national level of government, other national languages may be used in addition to Arabic and English as official working languages. The Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan echoes the Interim National Constitution of Sudan in upholding the value of indigenous languages. In paragraph (6.1) it contains the same statement that ‘indigenous languages… are national languages which shall be respected, developed and promoted.’ One of the main differences between the two constitutions with regard to languages is that the Constitution of Southern Sudan states in paragraph (6.4) that ‘English shall be the principal working language of government business in Southern Sudan.’ It also says that states have the right to adopt and use indigenous languages as official languages and as languages of instruction in schools. Both constitutions uphold the equality of all people before the law with regard to languages as well as culture and religion and their freedom to use their languages. In addition, both constitutions give GOSS legislative and executive powers to plan education services and set standards and Southern Sudanese norms with respect to education (Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, Schedule B, paragraphs 6 and 9). GOSS shall have exclusive legislative and executive powers of the education administration of primary and secondary schools (Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, Schedule C, paragraph 22). However, GOSS shall have concurrent legislative and executive competencies along with the National Government with respect to tertiary education, education policy and scientific research (Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan, Schedule D, paragraph 3). The Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (paragraph 33.2) also states that primary education shall be free and compulsory and that GOSS will provide free illiteracy eradication programs.
2.1.3 Language policy in education
With regard to language use in education, the Interim National Constitution of Sudan states in paragraph (8.5) that ‘there shall be no discrimination against the use of either Arabic or English at any level of government or stage of education.’ It also states in paragraph (8.3) that English and Arabic shall be languages of instruction for higher education. It does not refer to the use of indigenous languages in education. However, presumably the statement in (8.1) of the National Constitution quoted earlier and the lack of any prescription on language use in basic education would allow their use in both primary schools and basic adult education. On the other hand, the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan specifically allows for the use of indigenous languages as media of instruction in schools. The main official document describing education policy for Southern Sudan is ‘Education Policy of the New Sudan and Implementation Guidelines’. The policy part of this document in paragraph (2.16) gives the ‘preservation, development and use of mother tongue and its application in formal and non-formal education’ as one of its goals and guiding principles for education (SPLM 2002: 3). More detail is given in the following sections. Note that for the rest of this study there is a somewhat interchangeable use of the terms indigenous language, local language, and mother tongue (MT). All indigenous or local languages of Sudan are national languages. However because of the potential for confusing
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national languages with Arabic, ‘the widely spoken national language of Sudan’ according to the National Constitution, the term is avoided.
2.1.4 Language policy in schools
The Education Policy of the New Sudan states in paragraph 3.2.7 that ‘Mother Tongue shall be the medium of instruction during the first three years of formal education (primary one to three)’ (SPLM 2002: 4,14). It also states that the medium of instruction from Primary four onwards is to be English (SPLM 2002: 14). The syllabus documents (SOE 2002a) add more detail, and in terms of language use through primary school, can be summarised as follows: • The child’s MT is the medium of instruction in P1-P3, and continues to be taught as a
subject from P4-P8.
• English is taught as a subject from P1-P3 and is the medium of instruction in P4-P8. English reading and writing is started in P1.
• Swahili is taught as a subject from P4-P8.
• Arabic is taught as a subject from P5-P8. In relation to foreign languages, the Education Policy states that, ‘one New Sudan language other than Mother Tongue and a foreign language other than English [be introduced] as optional subjects from Primary Five and in Secondary School’ (SPLM 2002:14). The minutes of a recent GOSS meeting (MOEST 2006a:6) state that Arabic and Kiswahili will be optional subjects for Primary four and above. While the education policy for Southern Sudan is laid down by the GOSS, there is a certain amount of flexibility allowed to enable states to respond to local needs. Under ‘Harmonization of the curriculum’, the minutes referred to above state that, ‘The policy on curriculum and language shall be made at the level of MOEST, GOSS. However, States can develop policies to meet special cultural needs in collaboration with the MOEST, GOSS.’ (MOEST 2006a:6) The Primary School Syllabus sets out learning objectives for each subject in the curriculum, including MT. It states that the reason for using MT as the medium of instruction in the first three years is to harmonize the school with the home to create a conducive learning situation. It recognises that it is easier for a child to develop basic skills in listening, reading and writing in the MT than if he or she is trying to understand a foreign language used as a medium of instruction at the same time (SOE 2002a: 4). Community Girls’ Schools will also use MT as the medium of instruction (MOEST 2006a:6). At the moment there are several curricula in use in primary schools in Southern Sudan; those from Uganda and Kenya, the SPLM/GOSS curriculum, and in areas of Southern Sudan formerly held by GOS during the war the GOS curriculum. This means there are two basic language patterns; the Arabic pattern used by GOS, and the English pattern used by the others. The Arabic pattern is to be phased out gradually so as to accommodate States using it in education and returnees who have studied in Arabic. Special intensive English classes to teach English will help returnees to come into the mainstream education system (MOEST 2006a:8). It should be noted that GOSS has not yet developed a secondary school curriculum.
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2.1.5 Language policy in alternative education
As already stated the Education Policy for New Sudan encourages the application of MT in both formal and non-formal education. Beyond this no details are given about the languages to be used in non-formal education. It simply states in 3.3.1 that ‘Alternative curricula shall be developed to address the learning needs of children and adults who do not have access to the formal system.’ (SPLM 2002:4). However, the minutes of the GOSS interstate meeting say that ‘in adult education, both MT and English shall be the medium of instruction.’ Literacy in local languages is seen as a bridge to literacy in other languages: ‘Functional literacy is the “key” that will unlock literacy in other languages.’ (MOEST 2006a:7) In relation to adult literacy, in a report for UNESCO in 2001, Rashid Aderinoye recommended that at least four local languages be developed for the ‘popularisation of the adult literacy education among rural communities’ (Aderinoye 2001) This recommendation was based on the proposal that Arabic be the ‘National official language of Sudan’ and ‘English the second language’. He suggests that materials in Arabic be translated into the four chosen languages. The languages he suggests should be considered are Shilluk, Nuer, Zande, Bari, Dinka, Nuba and Tinjiriya. Developing local languages is one of the Action Points listed in the Strategic Plan of Action for Literacy, 2002-2011, at the end of Aderinoye’s report. (Aderinoye 2001). However in the author’s view, translation of material from a GOS curriculum is unlikely to be acceptable to the GOSS, who will see that as an attempt to impose a Northern curriculum with Northern cultural and religious values.6
2.1.6 The development of local languages
The Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan contains a commitment that the ‘Government of Southern Sudan shall develop indigenous national languages.’ This is reflected in the minutes of a recent GOSS meeting where the need for developing the languages of Southern Sudan for use in schools was recognised. In fact, one of the objectives of the Directorate of Quality Promotion and Innovation is to ‘establish a bilingual primary education system by developing Southern Languages’ (MOEST 2006a: 49). These minutes outline a plan to establish a National Institute of Languages (NIL) which is evidence of a strong commitment on the part of GOSS to develop local languages. It should be noted that this is currently conceived as a Southern Sudanese institution focusing on the development of Southern indigenous languages only. The goal of the National Institute is to train professional linguists to be consultants, translators, writers, trainers, teachers etc who will develop materials in local languages and train teachers. Part of its mission is to promote the use of local languages by encouraging people to speak their MT with their children at home. Another part is to develop curricula which are relevant to the cultures and traditions of the people (MOEST 2006a: 88). Adult education is not specifically mentioned, however there is no reason why NIL should not also be a resource for adult education as well as for schools.
6 There was some discussion about this at the recent Education for Reconstruction and Development Forum (ERDF) held in Juba in June 2006. William Ater, the current Under Secretary of Education for MOEST, made this point quite forcibly. This is not a surprising stance since part of the background to past conflicts between the North and the South has been the imposition of both a northern curriculum and language (Arabic) on the South.
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2.2 Overview of existing languages and their development as written
languages
Term of Reference: To provide an overview of which languages exist in written code, available print material, learning material and teachers.
It should be noted that the source for most of the language data for this report is the web version of the 15th edition of the Ethnologue (SIL 2005). Most other data is derived from the records of SIL-Sudan and personnel working for them.
2.2.1 The languages of Southern Sudan
The Ethnologue (SIL 2005) lists 134 living languages for the whole of Sudan including Standard Arabic, Sudanese Arabic (also referred to as Khartoum Arabic) and Creole Arabic (commonly referred to as Juba Arabic). 53 languages, including Juba Arabic are spoken as first languages in Southern Sudan. The population for the whole of Sudan in 2003 is estimated to be 34.5 million and that for Southern Sudan 7.5 million (NSCSE 2004:32). The Interim Southern Sudanese Constitution lists a tentative group of 63 Southern Sudanese ethnic groups. These are given in Table 9 on page 115 in the Annexes. One possible reason for this difference in number is that the Ethnologue may list languages of some ethnic groups as dialects of another language, rather than as separate languages, or different ethnic groups may speak the same language. The languages are split amongst various language families. In the South, the languages belong to Nilotic, Moru-Madi, Central Sudanic, Surmic and Niger-Congo families. Many of the language families in Southern Sudan are found in neighbouring countries, and some languages are spoken across borders. More detail on the geographic locations of language groups is given in the next section. Table 7 in Annex 6 on page 100 gives detailed data from the Ethnologue on the languages of Southern Sudan. Table 8 in the same Annex shows the relationships between the languages. Following Marshall (2005:24) these can be summarised as follows: 1. The Dinka language is listed under its five main dialects. If the numbers for these are
combined, this would be the largest group (32% of the total population) followed by the Nuer (19% of the total).
2. A few of the larger language groups form the majority of the population. If one counts the Dinka dialects as one language then:
• The largest 4 groups; Dinka, Nuer, Zande and Bari together form over 65% of the population. Of the remaining language groups none constitute more than 5% of the population by themselves.
• The top 10 groups; Dinka, Nuer, Zande, Bari, Shilluk, Otuho, Luwo, Moru, Mandari, Didinga, Toposa form just over 80% of the population.
• The largest 20 groups form over 90% of the population. 3. The languages exist in closely related clusters or ‘branches of a language family tree’ with
some degree of mutual comprehensibility between languages that are on the same branch.7
7 Typically languages ‘on the same branch’ have a lexical similarity of between 60-80%
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2.2.2 History of language development
Southern Sudan has a history of using indigenous languages in education. A brief overview of the history of language development in Southern Sudan is given below: In the colonial period in 1928, the Rejaf Language Conference was held to determine which Southern languages were to be used in education. Nine major languages were chosen, which are referred to as Role A languages. These languages were used as the medium of instruction for the first few years of primary school followed by English (IRL and SIL 1987). See Table 1 below for more details of Role A languages. After independence in 1956, GOS imposed a policy of Arabic only as medium of instruction in all schools. Schooling in the South was in any case disrupted by the first civil war. A few ‘bush schools’ in the rebel-held areas in the South continued with a MT and English system, whilst Arabic was used in schools elsewhere. The 1972, Addis Ababa Peace Agreement made provision for the South to use local languages alongside English in primary school. The Southern Regional Government set up the Institution of Regional Languages (IRL), with funding from USAID. IRL, in partnership with SIL, helped develop materials and writing systems for both the Role A languages and further languages designated Role B languages. (See Table 1 for the Role B languages.) As a result of this, nearly all of the Role A and B languages have orthographies and some early primary school materials from that time. During the first ten years of the partnership between SIL and IRL, 56,000 books were printed in 17 languages at IRL, while at Nile Press and other presses 171,000 books were printed in 7 languages (IRL and SIL 1987). However after the outbreak of the second civil war in 1983, the work of IRL gradually came to a halt. Whilst SIL-Sudan has continued with linguistic and language development work, Bible translation work and some support for community based literacy activities including some revision of older school material and development of new materials for children and adults, its work has been based in countries neighbouring Sudan8. Little large scale work on developing school materials in local languages has taken place since the 1980s. There have however been initiatives that used the SIL materials. E.g. In the mid-90s UNICEF provided funding for the reprinting of large quantities of MT materials for teacher training courses and the schools functioning under UNICEF and Operation Lifeline Sudan9.
8 SIL pulled all personnel out of the South in 1988. Since then some personnel have made occasional visits to the South, to for example, help run workshops there. SIL is now planning to renovate its centre in Juba and reassign people on a permanent basis to the South. 9 Operation Lifeline Sudan was established in April 1989 to offer humanitarian assistance to those in Southern Sudan needing it owing to famine and the civil war. It is a consortium of two UN agencies, UNICEF and the World Food Program, and around 35 non-governmental organisations.
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Table 1 Role A and Role B languages of Southern Sudan
The Table is derived from (IRL 1987)
Role A languages Role B languages
Bari
Dinka
Kresh/ Gbaya
Lotuho
Moru
Ndogo
Nuer
Shilluk
Zande
Acholi
Anuak
Avokaya
Baka
Banda
Belanda Bor
Belanda Viri
Didinga
Jur Modo
Luwo
Kaliko
Mabaan
Ma’di
Mundu
Murle
Toposa
2.2.3 Orthographies and printed materials available in local languages
As already mentioned, orthographies and some primary schoolbooks exist for most of the Role A and Role B languages. In addition, SIL has worked on other languages since the 1980s. In summary, according to information from SIL, there are 37 Southern Sudanese languages with some kind of writing system and most of those have basic materials for literacy such as alphabet books, primers and some reading books. Some of the reading books are intended for children but some can be used for both children and adults (e.g. cultural or folk stories, or Bible stories). There is also some specifically adult material, e.g. health related books, though this is a relatively small proportion of the whole. Some of these languages still need further work on their spelling systems and to obtain their community’s agreement on the orthography to be used. Indeed, given that none of these languages has been written for long or has large amounts of written materials, there are likely to be further developments in most of the orthographies as time progresses. A summary of printed material available from SIL is given below. Note, not all the materials may be currently in print.
18
Table 2 Summary of materials in Southern Sudanese languages available from SIL
Language (by size of population)
Role Alphabet Book
Primer Reading books
Transition primer10
Nuer A � � �
Dinka Rek A � � �
Zande A � � �
Dinka Padang A �
Bari A � � �
Dinka Cam A � � �
Shilluk A � � � English - Shilluk
Otuho A � � �
Luwo B � � � Adults’ transition primer English – Luwo
Moru A � � �
Didinga B � �
Toposa B � �
Murle B � � �
Jur Modo B � � �
Kakwa (covered by Bari)
Anyuak B � �
Loppit � �
Jumjum � �
Mabaan B � �
Acoli B � � �
Pari � �
Mundu B � � � Mundu-Bangala; Bangala-Mundu
Avokaya B � � � �
Belanda Viri B � � Teacher’s transition guide
Burun � � �
Baka B � � �
Ma’di B � �
Ndogo A � � � English -Ndogo
Gbaya or Kresh A � � �
Olu’bo � �
Belanda Bor B � �
Keliko B � � �
Bongo � � �
Morokodo � �
Banda B
Tennet � � �
10 A transition primer is a book that teaches people who can already read in one language, to read the different letters and symbols in another language that they know but are not literate in.
19
SIL books are currently sold through the SIL-Sudan office in Arua, Uganda. The director there can be contacted for the book list11. His email is: [email protected] The booklist currently has about 200 titles on it. There are two other organisations that have played a part in producing books in the vernacular and making them more generally available. They are ACROSS and New Day Publishers. New Day Publishers is the literature program of Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS). Sudan Literature Centre (SLC) is a department under ACROSS which is responsible for book production and sales. The aim of both organisations in terms of publishing is similar; to produce literature of use to the churches and Christians in Sudan. In addition, the Church Adult Literacy (CAL) training program that has been run by ACROSS has produced quite large number of local language books for use in adult literacy programs, though these are currently not available through SLC/ ACROSS12 13. Some further information on New Day Publishers, including their aims and list of vernacular books produced by them is given in Annex 7 on page 116. Further information can be obtained from the director, Stephen Kayanga. His email is: [email protected] SLC’s booklist is available by emailing [email protected]. It is a booklet of 18 pages, with the majority of books in local languages. Many are specifically Christian books, e.g. song books, or catechisms. However there is a list of AIDS books in different languages and also some dictionaries for Southern Sudanese languages15. A list of ACROSS CAL books can also be obtained from ACROSS or Russ and Lyn Noble who worked on the CAL program16. This is a list of 10, A4 pages. About half the books are SIL books used by the CAL program and half are books that the CAL program have developed themselves. The Nobles’ email is: [email protected] A few organisations may be producing a few Southern Sudanese language materials for use in their literacy programs (see later discussion). Generally speaking though, these are not used outside those organisations. In addition, a little community development related literature has been written and published by some organisations e.g. Rural Extension with Africa's Poor (REAP) has produced some agricultural related materials 17.
11 The author of this report also has an electronic copy. 12 Anthony Poggo, Director of ACROSS, sees no reason why they could not be made available that way if there is a demand for them. (Interview with ACROSS on 19th July in Nairobi). 13 Kayanga personal communication, email 15th July 2006; Interview with ACROSS on 19th July. 14 The author of this report also has a hard copy. 15 A dictionary would be a very helpful resource for a literacy teacher of Sudanese languages. 16 The author of this report also an electronic copy. 17 More information can be obtained from Roger Sharland at [email protected]
20
The Bible, mainly the New Testament has also been translated into quite a number of different Southern languages. More information on the languages, publishers and date of publication is given in the Annexes on page 118.
2.2.4 Teachers
Due to the civil war it is difficult to gather accurate and up to date information on numbers and names of teachers who have been trained in local languages. A large number of teachers were trained by IRL; teacher training was carried out in 15 different locations between 1977 and 1986 (IRL and SIL 1987: 16-17). However it is uncertain whether any consistent records of them still exist. It would be difficult to find out who is still teaching or available to teach and especially how to contact them. Anyone trained before the second civil war would now be between twenty and thirty years older and would probably have left their home area during the war. However, organisations currently involved in teacher training, which have at various times included some MT training (such as ACROSS, ADRA, UNICEF, SC UK) may be able to provide lists of attendees at courses. Other organisations running literacy classes may also be able to give names of teachers who are currently teaching. SIL is not involved in general teacher training or support of schools. It offers training only to support the MT component. As such, it is involved in training teachers in some local languages and it should be possible to obtain names of people teaching adult literacy classes and in primary schools from individual language projects, but this information is not currently gathered in one place. Some literacy work in Sudanese languages is also taking place inside refugee camps in Uganda and Congo. Some information may be available from the GOSS who has recently carried out a census of school teachers in preparation for registering them for the MOEST payroll18. However, that might not include whether or not the teachers have been trained to teach in local languages. Neither would it be likely to include teachers involved in alternative education.
2.3 Overview of use of language
Term of Reference: To take stock of oral and written language use per social domains, geographical areas, locations and user groups.
This section aims to give an overview of how the different languages of South Sudan are used and interact with each other.
2.3.1 Geographic locations of language spoken
The maps below give an indication of where languages are spoken. Map 2 is from the Ethnologue. The ‘separate map’ indicated on this, is NOT given here as this shows the languages of the Nuba mountains which are not the focus of this study.
18 This census was mentioned at the ERDF meeting in June 2006.
21
The source of the data for Map 3 is the DEPHA and FAO. The author approached the FAO about the source of this data19. They did not obtain the data by field survey but through various people (Sudanese) who are knowledgeable about Sudan. Clearly there is a strong correlation between the maps, though sometimes different names are used for different language groups (see Table 7 for lists of alternative names for different languages). E.g. Map 3 uses the name Latuka whereas Map 2 uses the name Otuho. However, although Map 2 is in some respects easier to read, the following comments about it by an SIL linguist should be born in mind: 1. Fertit is quite an outdated term. (Dar Fertit is sometimes used as a geographical term.)
It referred to all the assorted tribes in Bahr El-Ghazal to the west of the Dinka and the north of the Zande. From a linguistic point of view it is misleading since it includes the Niger-Congo Feroge and Banda and the Central Sudanic Gbaya (Kresh) and Yulu, plus several others. Ethnographically it is also unhelpful since the groups do not regard themselves as one. Some of the Fertit groups are reasonably large, such as Gbaya, but many of them are very small and may have lost their languages, such as Mangayat and Njalgulgule.
2. Jur Chol is given a large area, but it is in fact a small (in population) group speaking what is probably a dialect of Luwo or Shilluk. Much larger groups in that area, such as Luwo and Ndogo are not marked at all.
3. Moru is given a fairly large area, the northern half of which is actually Morokodo and Jur Modo/Beli.
4. Lugbara is not in Sudan at all. The area marked with that name is occupied by the Keliko. 5. Berta is given a large area in northern Upper Nile, but in fact they only occupy a sliver of
land along the Ethiopian border (most are in Ethiopia). The area marked with their name is really Mabaan, Jumjum and Uduk.
6. Chad is not a known group.
19 Jackson Kangethe was the person at FAO able to give some information (personal communication- email 12th July 2006): [email protected]
22
Map 2 Locations of languages of Sudan
23
Map 3 Ethnic Sub-Groups in Southern Sudan
(source: maps office, UN OCHA site, Juba, Southern Sudan)
2.3.2 Multilingualism
The languages of South Sudan exist in families. Members of language families often (but not always) live in close geographic proximity. Within a family there is often a high degree of similarity in words and grammar, which makes it easy for speakers of one language to learn a related language through everyday contacts. This means that neighbouring ethnic groups often understand each other because their neighbours’ language is related to theirs. In addition, Table 7, which gives a little information on bilingualism and language use, reveals that groups often know neighbouring languages even when they are not closely related. e.g. the Baka , Avokaya and Mundu are often bilingual in each other’s languages. Thus Southern Sudanese are often somewhat bilingual or multilingual in the languages of neighbouring groups. Another aspect of language use in Southern Sudan, is the use or role of non-indigenous languages; Juba Arabic (sometimes referred to as Creole Arabic or Southern Arabic), Sudanese Arabic, and English. It is also debatable whether all these are non-indigenous languages. Juba Arabic, a creolised version of Arabic, has been developing in South Sudan for over a hundred years, and there are certainly some first language speakers of it. Its vocabulary is predominantly derived from Arabic and Bari. Its phonology and grammar are heavily influenced by other local languages of South Sudan (Watson 1989). Juba Arabic does not have a high degree of mutual comprehensibility with Sudanese Arabic (SIL 2005). In the southern states of Southern Sudan (Eastern and Western Equatoria and Bahr El-Jebel) Juba Arabic is widely spoken in towns or other mixed areas. In the northern states of Southern Sudan the Arabic spoken is much closer to Sudanese Arabic, and this is widely used in towns
24
or other mixed areas. In addition, throughout Southern Sudan, the relatively few who have received some education, speak a little English. Given that fewer girls enrol in school than boys20 it is likely that women’s knowledge of English and possibly Arabic is less than their male contemporaries. It should be noted that Juba Arabic has probably become more diverse in the last 20 years. A number of interviewees said that the version of Juba Arabic in Juba for instance had become closer to Sudanese Arabic, which is not unexpected since it was held by the GOS in the recent war and thus there was a much greater influence of the northern standard of Arabic. Juba Arabic currently has no written standard. If it were to be used in a written form, there would need to be some survey work done to establish the varieties of it that exist.
2.3.3 Domains of language use
2.3.3.1 Written vs. oral use
It was not possible to find any documentation on details of how different languages are used in different social domains. However certain inferences can be drawn from other data. The literacy rate for Southern Sudan is very low. The report, ‘Towards a Baseline: Best Estimates of Social Indicators for Southern Sudan’ gives the overall adult literacy rate in the areas then occupied by the SPLA as 24%, with the female literacy rate as 12% (NSCSE 2004: 3). Most interviewees said that there was very little printed material present in Southern Sudan in any languages, and where it existed it was mostly in Arabic and English. Given this, there will be very little use of any written language. Written English and Arabic will be used by a very small minority who have attained some degree of education and/or who have jobs with NGOs working in Southern Sudan. Indeed, many of the interviewees said that one of the motivations for both literacy in Arabic and English is access to high prestige employment. One exceptional domain in terms of use of written material in languages other than Arabic and English is the church. Nearly all Sudanese interviewed mentioned that some Christian materials existed in their languages, whether this was the New Testament, complete Bible, catechism, missal or song books, and that these were used, at least by those leading the services, regularly in worship services.
2.3.3.2 Use of languages in different social domains
This study collected a small amount of data from various Sudanese about which languages they use in different social domains. Domains covered were the home, market, place of worship, community meetings and government offices. Informants were asked to consider the languages used in these domains in a town in their language area, and a nearby more rural area.
20 In 2000, the ratio of female to male enrolment was .359 (NSCSE 2004: 59).
25
The total number of people consulted is given below:
Mother Tongue of Informants Numbers of
people
Groups of
results/people21
Number
of Women
1. Baka 2 2 0
2. Bari 4 2 3
3. Didinga 1 1 0
4. Dinka 4 1 0
5. Keliko 3 1 0
6. Luwo 1 1 0
7. Moru 3 2 1
8. Otuho 1 1 0
9. Toposa 1 1 0
Totals 20 12 4
It should be noted that nearly all were male which could potentially shift the results. However, for Bari, the results obtained from the one group consisting only of women and another male interviewed independently were virtually identical. No attempt was made to differentiate between other user groups. The questions were asked in a generalised way, e.g. ‘In rural areas what languages are used in someone’s home?’ rather than ‘What languages do you use in your home?’ The languages chosen are not intended to be representative of the whole of Southern Sudan. The researchers made use of the people they had contact with through their own work and in the places they were carrying out the research. The languages at both the eastern and western extremes of Southern Sudan are not well represented. There is a good mix though of language groups that are large (e.g. Dinka, Bari and Otuho) and those that are quite small (Baka and Keliko). Given the low number of informants, these results at best represent a sketch. Even so, there are similar patterns across all the language groups and consistent differences between the rural areas and towns. All the results are given in Annex 4. Below in Figure 1, a selection of the results is diagrammatically illustrated, as this is a helpful way of viewing the data and comparing different domains22. It should be noted that the diagrams give each domain equal weight visually, which is likely not representative of reality. For instance, most people spend only a
21 Some people were interviewed together and gave a group answer by consensus. 22 When asking people about languages use, people were allowed to express themselves in a way that was natural to them. E.g. They might say ‘Otuho and Juba Arabic’ are used in the home. In order to represent this diagrammatically a judgement had to be made as to the relative mix. A statement like the preceding one would lead to a 50:50 apportioning of the languages. Only one researcher (Jaqueline Marshall) did this interpretation, so while this judgement is a bit subjective it should be fairly uniform. For all the languages there were no more than two sets of results (i.e. through 2 groups of people). In the case where there were two sets of results, the author has done an approximate average of them for the diagram.
26
Luwo: Wau town
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
home
community meets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage(%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Luwo: rural
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
home
community meets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage (%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Dinka: Rumbek town
0 50 100 150
home
communitymeets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage (%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Bari: Juba town
0 50 100 150
home
communitymeets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage (%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Bari: rural
0 50 100 150
home
communitymeets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage (%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Toposa: Kapoeta town
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
home
community meets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage(%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
Toposa: rural
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
home
community meets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage (%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
small proportion of their time in government offices. Also, very few children have up to this point completed primary school.
Figure 1 Illustrations of languages used in different social domains
Note: the charts below are ordered into the MT of the informant and then arranged in towns vs. the rural areas. They are arranged roughly from northern to southern locations. A-Juba stands for Juba Arabic and A-Standard stands for Sudanese Arabic.
Dinka: rural
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
home
community meets
market
church
school
Gov offices
usage(%)
MT
A-Juba
A-Sudanese
Eng
These results reinforce that Arabic (of a Juba variety in the southern part of Southern Sudan or the Sudanese variety in the northern part of Southern Sudan) is the trade language in
27
Southern Sudan, the language used in mixed communities and the language that two Southern Sudanese strangers will likely first try when they meet each other. English is the language of government and a small educated minority 23. In addition, in the rural areas the indigenous languages are being passed to children and the MT still has a fairly strong place in most social domains. In towns like Juba however, it is likely that the younger generations are in the process of rapidly ‘loosing’ their MT.
2.4 Overview of important actors and existing capacities in language
development
Term of Reference: To take stock of important institutions and actors in the field of language research and development, language in education and production of written material in all languages (mass media, literature, religious literature, development communication, etc.).
2.4.1 Institutions and actors involved in language research and development
In terms of language research and development of writing systems, SIL has undoubtedly played a very significant role alongside some motivated Sudanese from different language groups who were interested in developing and using their languages in a written form. However SIL has not been based in Southern Sudan since 1988 when it pulled out because of the war. It has worked ‘displaced’, from Kenya and Uganda to continue with language development, translation of the Bible and some literacy work. Because of the displaced nature of its work, SIL’s profile in Southern Sudan is now quite low. In addition, SIL does not for the most part directly implement literacy programs but rather offers training to communities who want to run literacy programs. In particular, it tries to support literacy work in language groups in which it is also helping with Bible translation. The low profile of SIL was reflected in the interviews given; not everyone knew about them, though most middle aged and older Sudanese were aware and appreciative of their work. However, SIL has at different stages since the 1970s worked on nearly all the Role A and B languages and some others. At this point in time, the Southern languages that it is working with are Mundu, Avokaya, Keliko, Baka, Dinka, Tennet, Didinga, Gbaya, Luwo, and Toposa. Because of this history it has a lot of linguistic data on Southern languages. In the public domain it publishes a journal called, ‘Occasional Papers in the study of Sudanese Languages’ (OPSL). It started doing this in 1981, and the ninth edition of OPSL was published in 2004. SIL is a significant source of descriptive linguistic data about the languages of Southern Sudan e.g. orthography statements, other linguistic write-ups (e.g. grammar, syntax, phonology and morphology), some dictionaries and a history of decisions taken about language development. It has physical archives that contain papers and books including all those in Southern Sudanese Languages that have been published by SIL or are close to publishable standards (including linguistic write-ups and dictionaries), as well as archives with more tentative or informal language write-ups. Also of interest, are some recently written history files, which cover how projects started, and which organisations or people were involved. Currently SIL’s physical archives are in its Entebbe office.
23 One added that Southern Sudanese intellectuals like to speak English together.
28
Other significant actors in the field of language research and development have been the different language communities themselves, or a least a few interested and committed people from language communities. A significant proportion of language development has been initiated as a result of a community representatives approaching SIL (Gilley 2006). Some communities have carried the work of developing books in their languages and of running literacy classes with only occasional help from SIL. The Morokodo literacy program, has been one example of this24. SIL has helped them develop an orthography and has offered some training in developing books, and some assistance in printing some books. SIL has not given any financial assistance or other help, yet the Morokodo have developed books and run their own community literacy classes. SIL has also helped some Sudanese to get training to a degree level or higher in either linguistics, translation or literacy and development. These people add to those who could be involved in language development and research. An institution that was fairly frequently mentioned by interviewees when asked who had supported the development and use of local languages was ‘the Church’. Christian missionaries from the three main church missions in Southern Sudan, Catholic, Anglican, and Presbyterian; were key initial developers and writers of local languages. The Church, while not a traditional research institution, has supported the use of local languages in church life and thus promoted the translation of the Bible25 and the writing of other Christian materials in local languages. It has often promoted literacy in local languages. The Catholic church for instance trains its catechists in MT literacy. The ECS church is currently running adult literacy classes in the MT in some locations. In addition, for most Southerners in Sudan, over the course of this last war very few institutions or organisations have been visible in Southern Sudan. The Church (through its different denominations) has been one of the few that stayed on the ground and tried in different ways to support the community. Also mentioned by interviewees as supporting local language development were civil society groups, ACROSS, and government education departments. The University of Khartoum has also contributed to language research. It is the only university in Sudan with a linguistics department (largely theoretical). In addition, some descriptive and socio-linguistics on different languages of Sudan has been done under the Department of Sudanese and African Languages at the Institute of African and Asian Studies (IAAS) which is part of the University of Khartoum. Universities in Southern Sudan were closed in the 1980s as a result of the conflict. The Universities of Bahr El-Ghazal and Upper Nile which were in the GOS held areas of the South during the recent conflict have been open for about 10 years, but they have no linguistics departments. Juba University was relocated to Khartoum and is still there, although they are looking into moving back to Juba. One also needs to consider the capacity available to train specifically in and for local languages. Most organisations involved in MT programs with whom this was discussed made literacy in the MT a prerequisite of becoming a trainer on their program. Some said only older people were literate in their MT and that this reduced the pool of people available. They offered additional training in, for instance, adult methods, but none in MT literacy. In terms of
24 Information from Morokodo Literacy Organisational Questionnaire. 25 Organisations that have worked with churches to translate the Bible or Christian materials have included SIL, the Catholic Church and Bible Society of Sudan (BSS).
29
international organisations offering this kind of training, SIL and ACROSS are the only ones. Of course too there are some Sudanese trained by them who are also able to train others.
2.4.2 Institutions and actors involved in the writing and printing of books
Organisations involved in the printing of books in Southern Sudanese languages have been largely covered in section 2.2.3. It is worth noting that the publishing capacity in Southern Sudan is extremely low. Most of those involved in printing any material for Southern Sudan do so outside of the area, either in Uganda, Kenya or Khartoum. MOEST have printed some schoolbooks in Rumbek and Yambio through printing facilities, donated by UNICEF. However these facilities seem quite low in capacity. The Catholic Church owns a printing press in Juba, which is still operational though old. Possibly it could be used more in the future26. Given the economic state of Southern Sudan, a market for books and the funding for printing of books are also issues. In terms of educational material, UNICEF has in the past, and recently, funded the printing of a large number of schoolbooks including those from SIL in local languages.27
2.4.3 Institutions supporting oral use of languages
The biggest support to the indigenous languages of Sudan are informal cultural and largely oral institutions, i.e. the ways people use these languages in their everyday lives and the special purposes they use them for. These might include songs, riddles, ways of story telling, speech giving and the need for different types of language to accompany rites of passage that are marked in the cultures. Some consider the church as part of Southern Sudanese cultures. When asked about how different literacy programs adapted to local culture, Amos Awan De Gak commented that ‘the church was in the culture’ so therefore the programs it ran were appropriate28. In this case, the church also offers other cultural patterns and reasons for using the indigenous languages, this time including a written form as well. Another institution that can be supportive of local cultures and languages is radio. From the interviewees spoken to, there are stations broadcasting into Sudan in local languages, though in some parts of the South there is still very little access to radio. Sudan Radio Service was mentioned as broadcasting in English, Classical Arabic and Juba Arabic and occasionally Moru. Another station in Yei was mentioned as broadcasting in Kakwa/Bari, Dinka and Arabic. There are a couple of radio stations broadcasting from Juba which also use some of the local languages. However it was it impossible to investigate the use of radio broadcasting in a general sense in any detail. Its use for instructional purposes is covered in the next chapter.
26 Interview with Education Secretary of Juba Diocese, Edward Odwour, 14th June 2006. 27 UNICEF has just printed a large number of the MOEST approved primary schoolbooks for distribution to schools as part of the ‘Go to School’ initiative. In the 1990s it also printed a lot of schoolbooks for distribution, including MT schoolbooks from SIL. 28 Interview with Amos Awan De Gak (and others in his group), 10th May 2006.
30
2.5 Use of languages as mediums of instruction in educational programs
Term of Reference: To contact basic education providers and get firsthand information about the use of languages as the medium of instruction in their educational programs.
2.5.1 Use of languages in formal education
The focus of this study has been on non-formal education, so providers of formal education have not specifically been approached with questions about the medium of instruction that they use. However some information was obtained over the course of this research since some providers work in both areas. Other information was also available since the author of this report had done earlier research on this (Marshall 2005). The situation in formal primary education is described below: Up until now most schools in Southern Sudan have been supported and run by the communities though the overall enrolment rate has been low (The gross enrolment rate 29 for 2002 was 23% (NSCSE 2004:59)). Teachers have worked more or less voluntarily with occasional help given to them from the community, e.g. via gifts of food or help with work in their gardens. Many teachers themselves have had little formal training, and may not even have completed primary school. NGOs supporting the education sector in South Sudan have offered support via some teacher training and provision of school supplies (textbooks, pens, pencils, chalk). Usually they have offered some incentives during training but were not able to pay teachers beyond that30. In any case most children have simply not gone to schools, or dropped out soon after enrolling. Different curricula have been used, most commonly those of Uganda and Kenya31. The predecessor of MOEST, the Secretariat of Education (SOE), has been developing its own curriculum since 1996. The syllabus for primary schools has been ready since 2002 (SOE 2002a; SOE 2002b), but it is only this year that books in English for the core subjects for P1-P4 were finalised, printed and ready for use. The core books for P5-P8 are also ready but not yet printed32. No books in local languages have been developed for the new curriculum. Given that SOE was the education wing of a rebel movement, and has had very few resources, it is not perhaps surprising that they have chosen to focus initially on books in English. MOEST too, one year into the interim period, is still struggling to set up systems and has relatively few resources. Some NGOs have been using the new MOEST books as they became available while others are still using other books and curricula. MOEST however would like all to move to the
29 Gross enrolment rate = the ratio of the total enrolment (regardless of age) to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education. I.e. it is possible for the gross enrolment rate to be greater than 100%. 30 There are a few exceptions to this. The Diocese of Torit has run good quality schools, with qualified (mainly Kenyan) teachers on proper salaries (Sommers 2005: 127-137). 31 Part of the reason for has been and continues to be to allow pupils to sit recognised exams. A system for Southern Sudanese primary school certification is only now in the process of being set up. Obviously only those close to the Ugandan or Kenyan border could in any case take advantage of this benefit. 32 This information was presented by Edward Kokole of MOEST in an update on the curriculum at an ERDF meeting in June 2006.
31
MOEST books and curriculum in the near future. A program that has been a significant part of the education sector since the end of 2002 has been the Sudan Basic Education Program (SBEP), though its work is now coming to an end earlier than anticipated. This program was under a consortium of NGOs headed by CARE and funded by USAID. One of the things SBEP has been working on since it started is a unified curriculum for teacher training, which has just been finished (MOEST 2006b).This looks a well thought out document. However despite the Southern Sudanese education and language policy, the teacher’s curriculum focuses solely on teaching English and teaching of other subjects through English. It makes no reference to teaching literacy in local languages and teaching through local languages. The older teacher training system which consisted of three phases of three months and was set up by UNICEF in collaboration with SOE did at least have a module on teaching of MT as a subject, though given the module material was in English and the module was taught in English it is questionable as to how effective it was.33 In the 1990s and early 2000s some organisations bought some MT materials from SIL and did some teacher training with these relating to MT. UNICEF, SC UK, ADRA and ACROSS are amongst those who have done this. Some communities running schools are still teaching MT literacy in them, with some occasional training help from SIL (e.g. Avokaya, Mundu, Keliko, Morokodo). It is understood that Community Girls’ Schools (intended for girls aged 9-13 to get back into the education system) which UNICEF has helped set up also use MT as a medium of instruction in the schools, though this may be only for MT classes and not for all subjects. UNICEF has helped write some MT materials for these34. Currently there is a danger that despite the language policy, teaching of MT literacy or teaching through the MT is more and more squeezed out of the system. More organisations will from this point on be using the teaching modules that go with the ‘Unified Curriculum for Teacher Training’ which gives no place to MT teaching. This was confirmed in some of the interviews (e.g. with ADRA who work both with primary education and adult education). In addition, there is an increasing emphasis on formal teaching qualifications. Many teachers in small community schools have no formal teaching qualifications. In addition the teacher training that SIL offers for MT is currently outside of the approved system and the SIL materials that exist were written before the current syllabus. SIL’s capacity in the area of teacher training is also low and it is only working with a few of the language groups. This said, MOEST still seems committed to implementing a system of bilingual education in schools. MOEST’s plans for the near future include a workshop for state education officials leading into a broader language and education conference to try to address some of the issues to do with how bilingual education in schools can be implemented.
2.5.2 Use of languages in non-formal education
The Table below gives information on those providing non-formal education and literacy programs and the mediums of instruction being used. The focus is on basic education. Most of the information is via firsthand contact. However some information was obtained about
33 Those in ADRA, while supporting the use of MT in the primary system, questioned the usefulness of this older module on MT education. They made the very valid point that there was a need for teacher training for this to be done through the medium of MT with MT materials to hand. 34 The author did not manage to gain information from UNICEF directly so this information is obtained second hand from others.
32
additional programs and it seemed worth including it in, along with an indication that it was ‘second hand’. If the program had no literacy component at all (i.e. it was purely practical or the participants were already literate) it was not included. E.g. CMS Ireland was interviewed about their vocational training school in Yei35, but the program did not aim to teach literacy. It was assumed that participants were already somewhat literate, and much of the training was in any case practical. Where the medium of instruction is given as MT, this means that it is intentionally MT and there is an aim of teaching literacy in the MT. It is apparent that a lot of training in Sudan, including that in primary schools, uses local languages and the varieties of Arabic orally for good pragmatic reasons (the knowledge of English of the participants or even the trainers may not be very good). This was also borne out in questionnaires36 and interviews. Emily Echesse of SC UK, talking about ALP program which only has materials in English said, ‘Program tutors work orally a lot in both languages; English and the MT.37’ Jenny Smyth talking about the vocational training school she and her husband are involved in said, ‘There are written manuals in English for these courses….The courses however are more than 50% practical, so not so much is based on written texts. In practice the trainers use a mixture of English, Southern Arabic, Bari and Moru in terms of spoken languages in the classes.’ New Sudan Women’s Federation (NSWF) run adult literacy classes. They were mentioned by several interviewees. However they are not included below as it was not possible in the allowed time to obtain information on their programs. It seems their literacy classes focus on English. SOLO mentioned that they are starting work with Sudan Relief and Development Agency (SURDA), Bahr El-Ghazal Women’s Development Agency (BWDA) and Bahr El-Ghazal Youth Development Agency (BYDA). These are Sudanese indigenous NGOs (SINGOs). However they are not included below owing to a lack of information in the time available. Almost certainly other organisations running literacy programs are also missing from the Table. Probably these are the smaller and less formal organisations. It is likely that they include other church based classes38, other SINGOs, and loosely constituted community based organisations (CBOs)39. It might also be worth contacting providers of education to Sudanese outside of Sudan, e.g. UNHCR or Jesuit Relief Services (JRS) both of which have had a high degree of involvement with Sudanese refugee education in places like northern Kenya and Uganda. The table is listed in alphabetical order of organisation names. Those programs that include MT literacy in them are shaded. Some organisations offer different types of program that fit the non-formal or alternative education label. In this case, there has been some attempt to give the different types of program a separate entry in the table below.
35 Interview with CMS Ireland, 20th May 2006. 36 E.g. AET Organisational Questionnaire and SC UK Organisational Questionnaire. 37 Interview with SC UK, 13th June 2006. 38 E.g. It is known that the ACROSS CAL training program worked with others besides ECS. 39 Many CBOs or even church groups are not well represented at larger education meetings, and given the bad state of communications in Southern Sudan, also difficult to contact.
33
For more discussion about the use of languages in programs see section 3.3.1 in the next chapter.
34
Table 3 Overview of information from providers of non-formal education and literacy programs
Orga
nisati
on
Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
ACROSS
NGO � • Boma, JONGLEI
• Leer, UNITY • Rumbek and Cueibet, LAKES
Church Adult Literacy (CAL)
MT literacy, writing of materials, teacher training, supervisors training
Trainers and supervisors of church based literacy programs for adults
ACROSS itself has not been running the adult literacy programs – but offering ongoing training to churches wanting to run church based literacy classes
MT and English
yes MT SLC and SIL
ACROSS
NGO � • Boma, JONGLEI
• Leer, UNITY
Accelerated Learning Program (ALP)
Primary school curriculum
Adults: Teachers and health workers who have not completed primary education
English no English n/a
ADRA NGO � • Maridi, Mundri and Yambio, WESTERN EQUATORIA
Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) for Women
Literacy, numeracy, life skills
Women who’ve missed basic education
MT and English
yes MT and English
ADRA
40 Town names if given, are in lower case whilst county and state names in upper case. For clarity counties are specifically labelled as ‘counties’.
35
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
AET NGO � • Rumbek, LAKES
• Yambio, WESTERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL
• Yei and Juba, BAHR EL-JEBEL
• Panyagor, JONGLEI
English, Basic IT, Public Administration
Adults: Out of School Youth, Ex militia and women
English no English n/a
Apuk Community Development Agency
CBO � • Wau, WESTERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL
• Liethnom NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL
Primary school curriculum, English, Dinka, Arabic, Christian religion
Classes for this program are not yet running. Some of it is aimed at children.
Dinka, Arabic, English
yes Dinka, Arabic, English
SIL
36
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
Avokaya literacy
CBO � • WESTERN EQUATORIA, in Avokaya villages between Maridi and Mundri, Avokaya villages along the road going from the Maridi-Mundri road to Ras Olo, Avokaya villages between Maridi and Yei
• In eastern Congo, in Rudu refugee camp near Aba
Avokaya literacy, AIDS awareness
Adults and children Avokaya yes MT SIL
Catholic Diocese of Juba
Church organisation
� • Juba, BAHR EL-JEBEL
Adult literacy Arabic literacy Adults These classes are run in Juba itself. They are also hoping to start some adult education in parishes around Juba which would probably include MT
Sudanese Arabic
no Arabic n/a
37
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
Catholic Diocese of Juba
Church organisation
� • Juba, BAHR EL-JEBEL
Adult literacy English literacy Adults These classes are run in Juba itself. They are also hoping to start some adult education in parishes around Juba which would probably include MT
English no English n/a
CRS NGO � • Tonj, TONJ COUNTY; Yambio, YAMBIO COUNTY;
• Magwi, MAGWI COUNTY
• Chukudum, BUDI COUNTY;
• Imehejek, LOPA COUNTY
• Padak, SOUTH BOR COUNTY
Literacy and vocational skills
Adults: Out of School Youth, Ex militia and women
Note the centres for these programs are just being built, committees are being trained, classes have not started yet
MT and English
yes English and MT?
?
38
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
ECHO BRAVO
NGO � • Yei and Juba, BAHR EL-JEBEL
Different levels of English are offered – from basic to quite advanced. Courses also target special English needs: e.g. English for the office, for NGOs etc
Those employed but in need of a better level of English for their work Most students are to be recommended by their employer
This is mainly a distance course using tapes. The students also have to drop in to a centre once a week to have some time with a tutor.
English no English n/a
ECS Church organisation
41 42 • In and around Rumbek, LAKES
Church adult literacy
Literacy, numeracy, Bible study, Christian living, life skills
adults First two years in MT after that English
yes MT and English
SLC and SIL
41 Most of the information about ECS church based literacy programs was from a lengthy email from Lynn and Russ Noble of ACROSS (13th May 2006) who offered significant training as well as support through the supply of mother tongue materials for the classes. The evaluation of the training aspect by ACROSS with associated information about the church based programs (of which the ECS one was a significant one) is given in ‘Across Church Adult Literacy Programme -Report on Impact Assessment and Evaluation of Programme’ (Noble and Manasseh 2004). The ECS Adult literacy supervisor is Ven. Elija Matueny Awet, and is based in Rumbek. The researchers for this study did not go to Rumbek and thus had no direct contact with Rev Awet. However according to the Nobles, a message can be sent to Rev Awet via the ACROSS radio system to Rumbek. Letters also reach him through ACROSS Rumbek from Nairobi via Lokichoggio. Lynn and Russ Noble left ACROSS in June 2006. It is not clear who will be continuing the work they did with ACROSS. 42 Information was also from interview with Amos Awan De Gak and others in his group, 10th May 2006.
39
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
Luanyjang Charitable Organisation
CBO � • Makuac Payam, TONJ EAST COUNTY, WARRAP
Dinka Literacy, English, numeracy
Those who’ve missed education and women
Classes for this program are not yet running
MT and English
yes English and MT
SIL
Morokodo Language Literacy
CBO � • Mundri and Maridi, WESTERN EQUATORIA
Basic Education, religion, English, Morokodo language for adults and children
Adults and children Some support in training literacy teachers and in providing MT materials provided by SIL
MT and English
yes MT and English
SIL
Mothers’ Union (In Khartoum, Renk and Juba)
International NGO working with local church organisation43 44
� • Renk, UPPER NILE
• Juba, BAHR EL-JEBEL
Mothers’ Union Literacy and Development Program (MULDP)
Adult literacy, numeracy, life skills
Mainly women MT for the first 2 years
yes Does not used printed materials
Printed materials not used in the program
43 The international organisation is Mothers’ Union based in UK which works with local Mothers’ Union groups all over the world (in this case in Sudan). 44 The work of Mother’s Union also falls under the ECS and other churches.
40
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
Mothers’ Union (other literacy programs)
church organisation
45 ? Mainly women MT initially yes ? ?
Mundu Literacy
CBO � • WESTER EQUATORIA: Maridi and a few villages in the area and near Yei on the Yei-Maridi road
Basic Education and Literacy for adults and children
Adults and children Some support in training literacy teachers and in providing MT materials provided by SIL Program is quite small – only 2 adult classes running
MT and English
yes MT SIL
45 No information was obtained directly from the Mothers’ Union programs outside of MULDP. However there are some literacy programs running outside of this. One of the researchers, Scopas Elias has information about classes using some REFLECT like approaches in Lui.
41
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SBEP Consortium of NGOs
� • BAHR EL-GHAZAL (AWEIL EAST,AWEIL SOUTH and GOGRIAL WEST COUNTIES
• EQUATORIA (KAJO KEJO, MAGWI and YAMBIO COUNTIES
• UPPER NILE (DUK and TWIC EAST COUNTIES)
ALP Primary curriculum
Youth and adult who’ve missed primary school
English no English n/a
42
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SBEP Consortium of NGOs
� • BAHR EL-GHAZAL (GOGRIAL EAST COUNTY)
• EQUATORIA (MARIDI and TAMBORA COUNTIES)
• UPPER NILE (POCHALLA, PAGAK, DUK and TWIC EAST COUNTIES)
Intensive English Language Course (IECL)
English Those who want to join ALP but whose English is not good enough
English no English n/a
SBEP Consortium of NGOs
� Professional English Program (PEP)
English Professionals like teachers or civil servants who have been educated through Arabic and now have to work through English in Southern Sudan
Not yet running English no English n/a
43
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SC Sweden
NGO � • RUMBEK EAST COUNTY, LAKES
• TWIC EAST COUNTY, JONGLEI AWEIL EAST COUNTY, NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL
Youth education Life skills (including literacy and numeracy) plus vocational skills (carpentry, tailoring agriculture)
Youth: adolescents and young adults, unaccompanied minors, demobilised child soldiers, children with disabilities, children with insufficient family support
English (though Arabic and MT also used)
no English n/a
44
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SC UK NGO � • JONGLEI (ZERAF COUNTY)
• WARAP (GOGRIAL WEST COUNTY)
• WEASTERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL (WAU COUNTY)
• NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL (AWEIL EAST and SOUTH COUNTIES)
ALP Primary curriculum and life skills
Adolescents who have missed primary schooling
English (though Arabic and MT also used)
no English n/a
SC UK NGO � As above Women’s literacy (Also called Women into teaching)
English Young women who could potentially be teachers
English (though Arabic and MT also used)
no English n/a
SC UK NGO � As above Intensive English Language
English Returnee teachers who have followed an Arabic pattern education
English (though Arabic and MT also used)
no English n/a
45
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SEM SINGO
� • WESTERN EQUATORIA (MUNDRI and MVOLO COUNTIES)
• UPPER NILE (POCHALA COUNTY)
• LAKES (CUIBET COUNTY)
Literacy and Conflict Resolution
Literacy, numeracy, conflict resolution and life skills
Adults Note that SEM has been an implementing partner of SBEP for adult literacy programs
MT and English
yes MT and English
SLC
SIL NGO � • Mainly outside Southern Sudan, e.g. Arua, Entebbe, Uganda with occasional workshops in different locations in Southern Sudan
Training for language development, materials development and teacher training for MT Training usually done in full time 1-2 week workshops
Writers, trainers and supervisors in community based literacy programs
SIL is not at the moment directly running literacy programs. It offers training in the area of language development, materials development, and some teacher training to those wanting to run MT based literacy programs (mainly Community Based Organisations)
MT and English
yes MT and English
SIL
46
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SOLO NGO / SINGO
� • Rubkonna, Pariang and Bentiu in UNITY
• Soon to start in other locations including Yirol and Rumbek in LAKES
Literacy and Post-Literacy
Literacy, numeracy, life skills
People who’ve missed education, including IDPs and refugees
MT, English and Arabic
yes MT, English and Arabic (though they use REFLECT literacy methodology – Mostly does not used printed materials?)
SOLO
47
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
SSIRI46 NGO � • Rumbek, LAKES
• Panyagor, Waat, Pochalla and Boma, JONGLEI
• Mundri, Maridi and Yambio, WESTERN EQUATORIA
• Juba and Kajo Keji, BAHR EL-JEBEL
Interactive Radio Instruction – for children (but labelled as non-formal because of non-traditional delivery through radio)
Only core of curriculum primary covered : English and MT literacy, maths and life skills
Children The program supplements conventional primary school teaching for 1 hour per day. They believe the program could be used for Adult learning too.
English for most of it, but MT for the MT lesson (though the broadcast for this lesson is English- Teacher expected to translate)
yes Teachers guide in English, no printed materials for students
n/a
UNICEF
UN organisation
? ALP Primary curriculum and lifeskills
Adolescents and adults who have missed primary schooling
English no English n/a
UNICEF
UN organisation
? Community based girls schools
Primary curriculum and life skills
Girls from ages 9-13 who have not attended primary school
The aim is that girls cover the equivalent of P1-P4 in 3 years and then they can join main schools in P5
English and MT
yes English and MT
UNICEF
46 Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI) is a program funded by USAID with Education Development Centre (ECD) as the implementing partner.
48
Orga
nisati
on Type of
organisation
First hand
inform
ation Location of
operation40
Program
name/ type
Subjects
included
Target audience Notes Mediums
of
instructio
n
Is literacy
taught in M
T?
Languages of
Materials
Source of MT
Materials
World Concern
NGO � • Liethnom and Luanyakar, NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL
Adult literacy, basic business skills, English, Christian living and ALP
Women and Adults who’ve missed education
MT and English
yes MT and English
? SLC or SIL
49
2.6 Conclusions with regard to language in education policy and non-formal
education
Southern Sudan has a language policy that is supportive of the use of its indigenous national languages. The policy is more loosely defined for non-formal education than for formal education. Up to this point though, GOSS has not done much to implement the policy either in formal or non-formal education. However there does seem to be political will to do this. Imminent plans for a language and education conference with further work on the design and establishment of NIL as a supporting institution should help. It is also clear that there is a huge drive for English in Southern Sudan. Arabic (both Standard Sudanese and Juba Arabic) is currently the language of wider communication. However for political, cultural and historic reasons English has been chosen as the main language of government and education, and is viewed as the prestige language by most in the South. As a result of this, many who have missed education seek to learn both the English language and English literacy.
50
Chapter 3: Literacy and Alternative Learning Opportunities
3.1 Recent history and current strategy and policy
3.1.1 Alternative Learning Opportunities
According to the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Education, Alternative Learning Opportunities (ALO) is a program which is key to addressing the post-conflict education needs of Sudan. In the recent document, ‘Master Program for Reconstruction and Development of Basic Education in Sudan’ it says:
The program is geared toward attracting and retaining out-of-school children, youth
and adults who are not otherwise served by basic formal school. Some children or youth
may be considered over-age for starting basic formal school and may come from
several categories: children associated with fighting forces, adult students including
demobilized soldiers, internally displaced peoples (IDPs), and returnees. The two main
components of the Alternative Learning Opportunities program are development of a
compressed curriculum and a functional intensive literacy program.
(UNESCO and GOS Federal Ministry of Education 2005: 16-17) GOSS refers to this area slightly differently, as ‘Alternative Education Systems’ (AES). It also uses the term ‘accelerated learning’, with the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) as a program which falls under AES. ALP is intended for adolescents or adults to cover the usual 8 year primary curriculum in 4 years. The SOE’s ‘Education Sector Plan for January 2005 to December 2010’ says:
Two decades of war have robbed a generation of their opportunity for education.
Displacement of the population has meant that post peace returnees will return to their
homes with a variety of educational experiences, some of which may not allow them to
pursue their studies within the curriculum framework of the south. These returnees will
be coming not only from the neighbouring countries but also from Northern Sudan. The
peaceful reintegration of soldiers into civilian life is a critical component of
establishing stability. Foremost among this group are children associated with the
armed forces (child soldiers).
All of these factors indicate that considerable emphasis and resources will have to be
devoted to accelerated learning opportunities for those young people and adults who
are now beyond the age of normal entry to basic education. Emphasis will be literacy
campaign and training in different life skills.
(SOE 2004:5) The director for AES in MOEST is Kuol Atem Bol. In a presentation that he recently gave on behalf of the Directorate of AES at a recent GOSS State Education Meeting he described AES as follows:
Alternative Education Systems are non-formal systems of education that aim to increase
learning opportunities for specific target groups, including adults (women and men
between 30 – 60 years old), over-aged children and youth who have missed out on a
basic education or dropped out of school (boys and girls between 12 – 30 years old), as
51
well as untrained or unqualified teachers and government officials who are literate only
in Arabic. Their educational needs will be met through a variety of alternative forms of
basic and continuing education. These alternative forms will include Adult Literacy,
Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), Community Based Girls Primary School,
Intensive English Courses and Interactive Radio Services which include a life skills
program.
(MOEST 2006a: 74) Both ALO and AES include programs under which adults or adolescents can cover the 8 year primary curriculum in 4 years. Because this study refers to Southern Sudan, I will use the term AES rather than ALO, although the two terms could be used interchangeably. There is an AES working group for Southern Sudan. The NGO SC UK is the focal point for this group whilst the group is chaired by MOEST (i.e. in this case by Kuol Atem Bol). The aim of this group is to share ideas and to help coordinate activities between the different agencies involved in alternative education and MOEST. Vocational training does not fall under AES (See Annex 8 for the structure of the departments under MOEST). However, it is envisaged that many adult centres would include both basic education and vocational training. As seen above, AES includes : 1. Adult literacy programs 2. Accelerated learning program (ALP) 3. Community based girls’ primary schools (CGS) 4. Intensive English courses 5. Interactive radio services which include life skills program. However there is an openness in MOEST to additional strategies and a variety of providers of adult non-formal education. Kuol Atem Bol is currently working towards having a literacy campaign which is planned to start in September 2006 (MOEST 2006a: 76). In an interview47 for this research, he said that he intended to involve civil society groups, Mother’s Union, government, youth groups, community leaders, teachers and others in the planning of this.
3.1.2 An overview of the different types of AES programs running
All the types of AES programs listed above are currently running. MOEST at the moment does not directly implement any of them but it is encouraging NGOs to work and plan together with education officials in MOEST and at state level and county level (ERDF meeting June 2006). Certainly some organisations spoken to (e.g. CRS, SC UK, World Concern), envisaged that their programs, including adult literacy programs and ALP would eventually be taken on and run by GOSS. The ALP program was initiated by SC UK, in order to address the needs of demobilised child soldiers, but the development of the program was taken on by SBEP who have finished developing the books for it, including some teacher’s books and a teacher training manual. It covers most of the core primary school subjects; math, English, social studies, science. All the books are in English. The four years of the program are referred to as levels 1-4. A variety of organisations, e.g. SBEP, ACROSS, SC UK, UNICEF are currently helping run ALP courses.
47 Interview with Kuol Atem Bol, 1st June 2006.
52
Community Girls’ Schools are also running and SBEP have helped develop some materials in English for them. The author of this report understands UNICEF has developed some books for community girls’ schools in MT, covering at least Dinka, but was unable to obtain any information from them directly. There are a variety of English courses and syllabi used by different organisations. One of them was also designed by SBEP. In terms of adult literacy, there is no set curriculum or materials and so different organisations use their own materials and approaches. This area will be described in more detail in some of the later sections. The only radio instruction currently functioning is run by Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI). This gives supplementary teaching of one hour a day48 through the medium of radio to children who are in conventional primary schools. The teaching covers maths, English and MT.
3.1.3 Formal vs. non-formal education
The AES programs are described as non-formal programs, however in the view of the author there is some overlap of AES with formal education. E.g. a major program in AES is ALP. It has a formal curriculum and credentials (a primary school certificate) and is sometimes run full time (e.g. by ACROSS). Likewise SSIRI targets formal school for children (though it does so only in a few core subjects, and through a non-traditional means). Smith (2001) gives some of the characteristics that may be ascribed to non-formal education:
• Relevance to the needs of disadvantaged groups
• Concern with specific categories of person
• A focus on clearly defined purposes
• Flexibility in organisation and methods (e.g. curriculum and timetable may be negotiated with the beneficiaries. Programs usually short term or part time)
• Non-credential based
• Not based in established educational institutions However notions and definitions of non-formality and formality of programs vary and it seems that in this case the most important defining factor for AES is that they provide education for groups of people who have in someway missed out. An additional defining factor is the provision of programs through means that are non-traditional (e.g. via radio, or part time or a flexible learning schedule). In most contexts non-formal education is a relatively small part of the overall education system. However in Southern Sudan, given the disruption to education caused by two civil wars, AES has both an important and large role to play in helping people make a living for themselves and contribute socially and economically to a peaceful and productive Sudan.
48 The hour is made up of half an hour of broadcast followed by half an hour of related activities.
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3.2 Main target groups and their literacy and adult learning needs
Term of Reference: Identify the main target groups for literacy and alternative learning opportunities in the field of non-formal basic education. Term of Reference: Take stock of available information on learning needs of the main target groups.
In documentation reviewed over the course of this research and through the questionnaires and interviews, the following main groups in need of alternative learning opportunities were mentioned repeatedly:
• soldiers or demobilized soldiers
• women
• returning refugees or IDPs
• adolescents or adults who have missed education These are of course large groups with many subgroups contained within them. SC Sweden49, working in a youth education program broke this down more for the target group they work with:
• unaccompanied minors (e.g. orphans)
• child soldiers
• children with insufficient family support
• children with disabilities Those with disabilities and nomadic people were also mentioned by some as quite large but ignored groups. There was not much detailed analysis of different target groups in the documents read for this research. An exception to this was an interesting study carried out by SC UK into the life of children in cattle and fishing camps (Kariuki 2005). The focus of this was education of the children not adults. Arguably though, even for the children to gain some kind of education in these circumstances, the nature of the provision would have to be somewhat non-formal in nature. In passing too, the report gives a little information about adult education needs in cattle or fishing camps. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was about to carry out a needs assessment as a basis for beginning their work in adult education. It would be worth obtaining that report when it is complete. The sections below give a brief overview of some of the circumstances of different groups and their learning needs. There is of course overlap between the different groups. The focus of this study is on adults and adolescents, so children are not included below.
3.2.1 Adolescents or adults who have missed education
Given the statistics already mentioned this is a huge proportion of the population. It should also be noted though, that the population of Southern Sudan is very young. Just over 50% were estimated to be under 18 in 2003 (NSCSE 2004: 32-33).
49 Organisational Questionnaire SC Sweden.
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For adolescents and young adults there is a greater need and desire for formal qualifications like a primary school certificate which could open doors to other training. For both adolescents and adults there is a need for vocational training. There is also a need of those who have a little education, but are working in professional roles, e.g. as health workers or teachers, to be helped to become properly qualified. This might include gaining a primary school certificate. Southern Sudan is predominantly a rural country so the majority of people live off the land either through growing crops and/or as pastoralists taking care of cattle or other animals. Literacy and numeracy are a necessary component in entrepreneurship and basic business training, as well as more specific training relating to the different agricultural livelihoods. For at least a sector of the population there is also a need for computer and IT skills. Some interviewed (e.g. SC UK) mentioned that it would be good if children and adults (e.g. those attending ALP) were in separate classes. Currently many classes are mixed and children may feel intimidated by adults and there may also be issues of potential abuse. Conversely too, some adults may feel shamed by children in the class who may perform better than them. Similarly in some contexts, it may be better to have separate basic education classes for men and women since mixed groups of men and women may not be used to discussing things freely together. There are though many mixed sex classes already running and generally speaking having mixed classes seems less of an issue for younger adults. An issue for both men and women who are the main providers for their households is that they are busy people. So the scheduling of classes both in terms of the time of year (to coincide with periods when there is not a lot of agricultural work) and time of day is important. Given this post war context there is a need among the adult population for civic education relating to the operating of government, politics, the CPA, peace education, reintegration of returnees, and conflict resolution. There are also cross-cutting issues like AIDS, other basic health training and mines awareness that it would be helpful to have as part of basic education. Generally these are grouped together under ‘life skills training’. It should be noted that in some parts of Southern Sudan, mainly the GOS held parts in the last war (part of Western Bahr-El Ghazal, Northern Bahr El-Ghazal, Upper Nile) there is very little knowledge of English. Any education (e.g. in schools) was and still is through the medium of Arabic. Since the intention is that English is the main language of education and government there is a greater need for English training in these locations and also appropriate policies related to the use of Arabic. Even in the former SPLM areas of Southern Sudan, only those few who have received some education have a knowledge of English. It would be helpful therefore to have basic education which starts in local languages (including Arabic where it is dominant) but includes English.
3.2.2 Women
As a result of the war there are more women than men in the younger age bracket though overall the male and female population is about equal. Many women therefore are the main
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providers for their households and need skills which can help them in that role. Much of this has been covered in the previous section with points specific to women made below. Women have more health issues than men. E.g. the lifetime risk of a woman dying in childbirth in Southern Sudan is 1 in 9, a rate 4 times higher than the rest of Sudan50. Women are also the main caretakers of children, so have more responsibility for their health and education too. Currently one out of every four newborns dies before reaching the age of five (NS 2004:4).There is a need for both increased health care provision and basic health education. The need for childcare is another consideration in how classes for women with young children can be run. Women have less knowledge of languages of wider communication, so there is a greater need for basic education which includes their MT.
3.2.3 Returning refugees or IDPs
It is estimated that returnees to Southern Sudan may add several million to the current population (NS 2004: 27-30). Their education experience will be varied. Some (e.g. those from Kakuma refugee camp or from northern Uganda) may have received a relatively good education largely in English and will have comparatively few learning needs (Sommers 2005: 159-203). Others will have special educational needs because they will have been educated in a variety of languages. For example, those who have been refugees in Congo may have been educated in French or Lingala, those from Ethiopia in Amharic, those returning from Uganda will have been educated in English, those from Kenya will have learned in English and Kiswahili, those from Khartoum in Arabic. Those with some qualifications (e.g. teachers) will need English training in order to function well in the South. This will be a major problem for children of returnees who may not know their MT or English well. Other returnees may also have missed out on education and therefore much already mentioned applies, although they too may have different language needs.
3.2.4 Demobilised soldiers
Demobilized soldiers need to be reintegrated into civilian society. Psychosocial needs exist generally for a war-traumatized population, and particularly so for this group. Another major need is for new work related skills. Much already discussed above applies.
3.2.5 Nomadic peoples
Cattle are a central part of the culture of many people in Bahr El-Ghazal, Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Eastern Equatoria. In the dry season, whole communities of people migrate to areas where there is enough grass and water for the cattle. The timing of the migration will depend on the length of the dry season, but according to Kariuki (2005), in Bahr El-Ghazal and Upper Nile most people move to the cattle camps in November. From approximately January to June people build temporary homes for shelter in the camps and from March to July some adults
50 Oddly and despite the effect of the war on demographics, this means that there are more elderly men than women (NS 2004:4).
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return ‘home’ in order to prepare the fields for planting during the rainy season which starts in May/ June. Kariuki (2005) estimates that up to 50% of school children in Southern Sudan are to be found in cattle camps. Given this, the adult population involved must also be quite sizable. In terms of educational provision, nomadic people are often ignored and unable to access provision which is in a fixed location. Some of the needs of adults in these groups are similar to non-nomadic adults though with a need for provision that would fit in with their lifestyle. There has not been much analysis done in this area, however there seems to be a desire for adult education among this group. Kariuki gives an example from a discussion group he was involved in about the possibilities of children’s education in a cattle camp, of a mother saying that women would also be interested to sit in the classroom behind the children in order to learn to read and write.
3.2.6 Disabled people
According to Gulliver Ishmael, director of Sudan Evangelical Mission (SEM), people with physical disabilities are often forgotten and looked down on51. There are a lot of people with disabilities as a result of the conflict. Some of the causes are given below:
• Soldiers injured in fighting
• People maimed by shrapnel as a result of past aerial bombing
• Men, women and children injured by land mines (these are still a big problem, they have been planted all over the place by both GOS and SPLA forces)
This group needs physical aids and has a high need for vocational training adapted to their disabilities which will allow them to be somewhat independent. Other needs mentioned for adults also apply.
3.3 Overview of literacy and NFE programs
Term of Reference: Take stock of good practice examples in literacy and alternative learning opportunities for target groups with special needs. Term of Reference: Take stock of good practice examples for culturally and locally adapted curricula. Term of Reference: Take stock of literacy and non-formal basic education programs with Sudanese languages of instruction other than Arabic or English.
Table 3 at the end of the previous chapter gives an overview of information on non-formal basic education programs taking place in Southern Sudan that was obtained during the research. The information from most of those listed in the table is via first hand contact. All those contacted and the type of contact is given in Annex 1 on page 77. Table 3 gives the type of programs, location of the programs, overview of subjects included and an indication of the languages used. As mentioned in Section 2.5.2, there may be some programs missing from this, but the author believes the coverage of programs to be fairly good and representative of the different types of programs that are currently functioning.
51 Interview with Gulliver Ishmael from SEM, 22nd July 2006.
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The list below gives a summary of various subjects that were included in the non-formal/AES programs reviewed: 1. MT literacy 2. Life skills (general health education, family life, AIDS education, mine awareness
education) 3. Functional numeracy (e.g. with an emphasis on small business) 4. Christian living (e.g. Bible study, application of Christian principles to life and work) 5. Peace building/ conflict resolution 6. Business and micro enterprise skills (sometimes linked to provision of micro credit) 7. Basic vocational training (e.g. sewing, handicrafts, masonry, carpentry, agriculture) 8. Basic training in English language including English literacy (often this is to allow people
to access other training which needs some level of English e.g. ALP, or in-service teacher training)
9. Equivalent of primary curriculum (ALP), or part of the primary curriculum (SSIRI and Community Girls’ Schools)
10. More advanced vocational training (e.g. welding, general electrical, auto mechanics, refrigeration)
11. Advanced/ professional level English language training including English literacy (e.g. for those highly educated in Arabic but needing good skills in English)
12. Children’s rights 13. Empowerment and civic educational skills (basic human rights, political education, good
governance and the rule of law) The most common grouping of subjects for basic adult education/ literacy programs was of the first three in the list; literacy, functional numeracy and life skills (e.g. MU, SEM, ADRA). SEM was unusual in that it has also incorporated a large element of conflict resolution into its program. Life skills were fairly frequently mentioned as parts of AES programs both of the more basic type and equivalents of primary education. Some programs, including those run by churches and CBOs (e.g. ECS adult literacy, World Concern, Morokodo literacy) included aspects related to religion or Christian faith (e.g. relating to family life, business ethics, trauma healing, conflict resolution). In terms of the providers or supporters of alternative education, there was a range of organisations: 1. United Nations organisations e.g. UNICEF 2. International NGOs 3. Larger Sudanese NGOs (SINGOs) that have been established for a number of years,
working in a number of different states. e.g. SEM 4. Church organisations, e.g. ECS adult literacy, Mothers’ Union at the local level 5. Smaller SINGOs, e.g. BYDA and SURDA 6. Community based organisations. Many of these are quite small, and not formally
constituted or registered as associations or organisations The table below gives indications of sizes of a representative cross section of programs. Once again, those programs that include MT literacy in them are shaded. Because the focus of this study is programs which include local languages most of those from whom information was
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obtained are included below, along with some programs which relate only to teaching of English:
Table 4 Sizes of a cross section of AES programs
(Listed in approximate size order)
Provider Type of
organisation
Program Size (relating to adolescent and
adult participants unless
otherwise stated)
SSIRI NGO Supplementary radio instruction for schools
360 teachers, 500 classes, estimated 40 per class i.e. 20,000 total children52
SBEP NGO consortium
ALP 8,075 learners enrolled altogether in 2004 and 200553
SC UK NGO ALP 3,240 participants54
SBEP NGO consortium
Intensive English Language Course (IECL)
2170 participants55
CRS NGO Literacy and vocational training
1,800 participants56
ADRA NGO Functional Adult Literacy for Women
1,020 participants in the ‘MT and English’ program, 630 in English only program57
MU International organisation working with local MU groups
MULDP 112 circles in Juba and Renk i.e., about 1680 participants58
ECS Church Church adult literacy 1,642 participants in 200259
SOLO NGO/ SINGO Various programs including adult literacy
Figures for both South AND North for 2005: Bina Algiraea beneficiaries = 680 Reflect literacy beneficiaries = 753 Basic Adult education for Community Development = 14260
52 SSIRI Organisational Questionnaire. 53 From (CARE International 2005:34). 54 SC UK Organisational Questionnaire. 55 From (CARE International 2005:36). 56 CRS Organisational Questionnaire. 57 Interview with Clement Arkangelo from ADRA, 18th July 2006. 58 From a final evaluation report in June 2003 (MU 2003). From an interview (2nd June) with MU trainers in Juba the program has probably grown since then; there are now 66 circles in Juba compared to 52 in 2003. 59 From (Noble and Mannesseh 2004). 60 From (SOLO 2005:3)
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Provider Type of
organisation
Program Size (relating to adolescent and
adult participants unless
otherwise stated)
SEM SINGO Adult literacy Over 1000 participants61
Morokodo literacy
CBO Community education and literacy
702 participants (but not clear how many adults and how many children)62
Avokaya literacy
CBO Adult literacy 12 adult classes ie. about 240 people63
ACROSS NGO ALP 3-4 classes, about 75 students64
SC UK NGO Intensive English Language
50 participants
Another source of statistics relating to adult education is the minutes of the GOSS meeting of Education Ministers and Director Generals in April 2006 (MOEST 2006a). A report from each State Ministry of Education gives educational statistics for that state. These include some statistics relating to adult education and ALP which are given in the table below, though only two states had statistics of this type. Since the mechanisms for state data collection are still in their infancy these are likely to be incomplete.
Table 5 Statistics for Adult/ Adolescents Education from State Ministries of Education
State Type of program Number of participants
Bahr El-Jebel Adult education 1584
Western Equatoria ALP 11741
What is apparent from the two sets of statistics above is that the largest kind of adult education program by far is ALP of which SBEP has been the most significant provider65. It should also be noted that significant amounts of money are being targeted at courses to teach prospective teachers English. For the years 2006-2009 $ 0.4 million is being proposed to support a six month beginner’s English language course for a total of 1,482 people and $ 1.3 million is proposed to support a 6 month intensive English course for 4,473 people. (MOEST 2006c: 6) This having been said, the total AES courses currently running represent a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared to the actual need.
3.3.1 The languages and literacies offered in programs
The following table summarises the different ways language and literacy skills are offered in the programs reviewed:
61 SEM Organisational Questionnaire 62 Morokodo Organisational Questionnaire. 63 Avokaya Literacy Organisational Questionnaire 64 ACROSS Organisational Questionnaire. 65 Since SBEP has been rather abruptly stopped it is currently unclear to the author how the programs it supported will continue to function.
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Table 6 Types of language and literacy offered in non-formal programs
Program
language
and literacy
type
Spoken
languages used
Aim of program in terms of
literacy and language learning Example(s) of this
type
English MT, English, Arabic (both Sudanese standard and Juba Arabic)
Aim is to learn English together with literacy in English. Use of other spoken languages in the class for pragmatic reasons to aid learning
ALP
MT (without printed materials)
MT Aim is to achieve literacy in MT. Few printed materials are used. Written materials are generated in the class. Often ‘REFLECT-like’ literacy approaches are used.
MULP, SEM
MT (with printed materials)
MT Aim is to achieve literacy in MT First two years of ECS church based literacy 66 Some community based programs which have some links to and support from SIL (e.g. Avokaya literacy, Morokodo literacy)
MT and English MT, English, Arabic (both Sudanese standard and Juba Arabic)
Aim is to achieve literacy in MT and learn English together with literacy in English.
ADRA FAL
Arabic Arabic (Sudanese Standard) + ?
Aim is to learn standard Arabic and achieve literacy in Arabic
Some of the adult classes run by Catholic Diocese of Juba
SOLO67
MU classes in Renk68
In the former SPLM areas of Southern Sudan, adult education programs with a target of literacy in Arabic are rare or non existent. However they are offered and used in other places e.g. Juba, so they have been included as a program type. Programs focusing on English and Arabic are not the core part of this study, but logically they do form part of the models above and are the context within which programs using local languages sit. There is a strong desire for education in English. Whilst the researchers did not deal directly with program recipients, this was the view of almost every Sudanese interviewed. Clement Arkangelo of ADRA offered his perception that people feel that ‘..if you do not speak English you are not educated.’69 Others said that people view English as the ‘office language’ and see
66 The ACROSS program supporting this was one of the few with an aim of a print-rich environment for the literacy classes (Noble and Mannesseh 2004). 67 SOLO is operating in former GOS areas of Southern Sudan and it may be running programs there which include Arabic literacy. This was not clear from the questionnaire they sent or their annual report which covers the whole of Sudan. 68 From MU Organisational Questionnaire from a trainer in Renk. 69 Interview with Clement Arkangelo of ADRA, 18th July 2006.
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it as a means of getting a good job. Gulliver Ishmael70 of SEM said, ‘We have found this area [of teaching MT literacy] problematic… MT literacy is facing a challenge. They [the participants] see learning English as something that can be put into immediate use. They see that it gives them opportunities for employment, or perhaps income generating activity.’ However those implementing MT programs had reasons for doing so, one which was pedagogical, that people learn easier this way. Clement Arkangelo said that in ADRA they had experimented with two approaches, one English only and one in both MT and English. (This starts in the MT for 3 months and then runs in English and MT in parallel for the remaining 2 years of the program). He felt the bilingual program worked much better. He said that if participants try to learn literacy and English together at once ‘they are trying to learn too many concepts at the same time.’ He also said that once participants got into the program and experienced it they accepted the approach. There is also a history of MT use in education in Southern Sudan and at least some are supportive of it as well as English. Rebecca Dawidi, said, ‘It [teaching of MT] is the maintenance and development of cultural heritage and traditional ways of living, and means of understanding religion. In addition, it gives a greater sense of identity to the child and fosters transition to other subjects/languages as well as reducing illiteracy rates.’(Elias, 2006) All those spoken with who had experienced education through their MT viewed it positively, saying that it had helped their early education. In addition, from comments made in interviews, programs which focus more on teaching literacy in the MT (e.g. ECS adult literacy, the MU adult literacy programs, SEM program, World Concern, ADRA) are acting as a bridge for some people to enter other programs which are targeting English only, e.g. ALP. In terms of the MT component of all of the programs offered in Southern Sudan (those offered with and without English) there are two variants: 1. Those using printed materials in the MT 2. Those not using printed materials in MT Examples of organisation involved with (1) are SIL, ECS, ACROSS, ADRA. Those under (2) usually follow ‘Participatory Learning and Action’(PLA) or ‘REFLECT-like’ approaches (E.g. SEM, MULDP, SOLO). SSIRI uses a different approach but also no printed materials in the MT. It is very understandably why ‘material-less’ approaches to teaching literacy, as in approaches which do not supply printed materials for participants, have been developed and are being used all over the world71. There are only a few printed materials available in most of the languages of Southern Sudan. For some in Southern Sudan, e.g. MULDP, the motivation behind choosing this kind of approach has been not so much the availability of materials but financial sustainability for the program.
70 Interview with Gulliver Ishmael of SEM, 22nd July 2006. 71 The author’s understanding of REFLECT-like approaches is that they do also try to use whatever printed materials exist in the local context, from shop signs, to adverts, to newspapers, and they also generate written material in the class/circle.
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Participatory approaches could be used to help explore and develop uses of literacy in local languages which are not dependent on outside printed materials. Some of these might be in more personal use of writing e.g. record keeping, journaling, letter writing. Others are ways in which individuals or small groups can become producers on a small scale of written materials for the community. These could be hand written posters or leaflets, or similar materials produced on fairly basic printing facilities (e.g. a computer and a printer, though it should be noted that electrical power and even basic facilities like these are still rarities in Southern Sudan). Regardless of the printed materials used or available, the aim for literacy programs should be to try to generate at least a ‘writing-rich’ environment in the class, if not a print-rich environment, in a variety of genre relevant to the context and aims of the participants. This could include various analyses from PLA activities, health materials, and more cultural material like songs, riddles or stories, etc. During the war there were almost no resources for teaching, including things like manila paper or flip charts. Some of these items should now be more available for use for materials generation by the teacher and the learners. Creating a ‘writing-rich’ environment in an outdoor class will still be a challenge, though. In theory, participatory approaches, with their ideal of development from within, and allowing participants themselves to be the primary actors and decision makers in development change, should allow space for reflection and exploration of the uses of literacy or literacies that fit within peoples’ own culture and language. The issue of writing, which is after all akin to a foreign technology, could and should be made the object of analysis in participatory- based literacy classes, and people themselves should come up with some of the ways it should be used. Any other approach can be accused of cultural and linguistic imperialism. A question of course, is how close do many participatory approaches get to their ideal? Another potential weakness to all the programs which have a component of MT literacy is lack of training given to facilitators in and through their MT. A few with whom this was discussed look for potential trainers who are literate in their MT. However, the training they then offer seems focused on adult teaching methods or particular methodologies, rather than giving training to help the trainers be competent and confident writers and teachers of their MT. Others may simply look for those who are literate, but the assumption that someone is competent at writing their MT may not hold true. Therefore MT writer’s training is an essential component of facilitator training in any MT literacy program regardless of methodology chosen (e.g. REFLECT or more traditional approaches). Arguable REFLECT-like approaches, which rely on materials generation in the class, require facilitators who are even more comfortable as writers than those in traditional approaches. ACROSS and SIL have good MT writer’s training but the author is unaware of others who do this72. There should also be an aim that some teacher training and teaching practice is done through the medium of the local languages. Benson (2004), focusing on
72 While SIL offers some excellent courses in this area, in the author’s view, their ability to impact or influence training of literacy workers has been limited by several factors: (1) they have been based outside of Southern Sudan in neighbouring countries, (2) they have rarely been involved in direct implementation of literacy programs. ACROSS’s strength has been that it has worked much more ‘on the ground’ in Southern Sudan and much more closely with those implementing the literacy programs.
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bilingual education for school teachers in developing contexts, recommends the inclusion of various topics given below into the teaching training curriculum. All of these apply, some in a slightly different way, to facilitators of adults in bilingual programs73: 1. First and second language learning theory 2. Modelling and practice of first and second language teaching methods (oral and written) 3. Modelling of methods for intercultural instruction (e.g. ways to bring the home culture
into the classroom) 4. Second language verbal and literacy skills 5. First language verbal and literacy skill including pedagogical vocabulary 6. Language and program assessment, including international studies of bilingual schooling,
models and evaluations 7. Study visits and/ or practical internships at functioning bilingual schools 8. Collaboration with parents and community members In addition, even if there are no printed materials for each participant, there should be an attempt to give each trainer some printed/written materials to support them in teaching MT literacy. Many of the SIL books would be helpful in this respect. Indeed a few programs seem to be using them in this way 74. Some types of books that are available through SIL, SLC or New Day Publishers that could be useful as ‘trainer only’ resources are given below (Note, not all of them may be available for all languages): 1. Alphabet books: These offer a very basic guide to a language’s orthography 2. Spelling guides: These give spelling rules such as for conjugations and word breaks 3. Transition primers: These are helpful in that they show and help teach the relationship
between the writing systems of two languages e.g. a local one and English. While Southern Sudanese languages are written in Roman scripts like English, there are often some of the following differences: a) the vowel system and symbols used are different
b) diacritics are often used to represent linguistic features which are not present in English e.g. vowel quality, breathy-ness, tone
c) the sound-symbol relationship in the local language is not identical to English
4. Dictionaries 5. Books of cultural stories or histories: These could be read out, copied, used for morals,
used or adapted to relate to other teaching. 6. Big books: Simple story books that could be for use with the whole class. While acknowledging the Southern Sudanese desire and need for English, and while meeting that need, space should be given for local literacies to be taught and to develop. This is especially true given the overwhelming power of English as a language, the multiplicity of different English media and the fact that very few resources so far in terms of funding or technical assistance have been given to local language and literacy development.
73 E.g. (8) would become, ‘Collaboration with community members.’ 74 E.g. Scopas Elias, reporting about a MU literacy program running in Lui, said that while they use REFLECT–like approaches, the teachers have some of the SIL and SLC books in Moru as resources for themselves (from Interview with SEM, 22nd July 2006).
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It is also likely that a good bilingual literacy program will achieve similar objectives to an English-only program in a similar amount of time. But, it will have the additional benefit of participants being literate in their own language and having discovered ways that literacies in local languages can be used. Writing, essentially a foreign technology, will have been appropriated for local use75. It is worth making some comments about SSIRI even though it is currently targeting children. Radio instruction has a lot of potential advantages given the situation in Southern Sudan76:
• It can be used with teachers who have not had much prior training as teachers.
• The training required to follow the method is low; 2-3 days.
• The approach followed is activity and pupil centred.
• The radio in some senses acts as a mentor to the teacher and offers a form of on-the-job training by taking the teacher through various teaching activities.
• It can cover a lot more people than conventional approaches. It is designed to offer very helpful structural support to the teacher. However as SSIRI is currently conceived, all this support is offered in and for English and none for the MT, though in theory it has a local language component. The training given by the program is in English, the teachers guide is in English, and the broadcast is in English77. A poorly qualified teacher is expected to be a good translator, a role which is usually viewed as a skilled job. It is also assumed that teachers are competent writers in their MT. Once again, the teacher has no training or materials that help him or her to be a good teacher in the MT. Admittedly SSIRI has only been running since March 2006, and hopefully some of these issues can be reviewed and improved. Further comments on radio instruction are made in the later section giving recommendations. SSIRI is also planning to develop two further programs: 1. Turbia: A course to teach English to the general population 2. PS101 teacher training course: This is a first level teacher training course for English
which is part of the new unified curriculum for teacher training. SSIRI will start on these in 2008 and intends to be broadcasting within approximately 6 months of when they start78.
3.3.2 Good practice
Good practice is not easy to assess without visiting programs. However certain strengths were apparent from interviews and documentation:
75 This conclusion is drawn from similar research in bilingual education for children, and comments and information from programs in this study, e.g. from ADRA. 76 Interview with Victor Vasquez of SSIRI, 20th July 2006. 77 Interview with Victor Vasquez of SSIRI, 20th July 2006. 78 With the current school materials SSIRI had the luxury of producing a whole grade’s worth of programs/material before they broadcast. When they do the new programs they will be producing and broadcasting in parallel.
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• Ongoing, reasonably frequent training and mentoring of the teachers. A few organisations, e.g. ADRA and MU have also implemented some kind of cluster approach whereby groups of teachers working geographically close to each other regularly meet to share some of their challenges and offer each other possible solutions79. This is particularly important where the teachers are voluntary or only on a very small financial incentive. It helps the teachers feel valued and that they are themselves gaining something from the program.
• For literacy programs with a MT literacy component: Teachers’ training which is done for and in the local languages as well as English. The supply of appropriate MT materials as a teaching support and resources for the teacher.
• Ongoing monitoring and regular evaluations of the program. E.g. The ACROSS (Noble and Mannesseh 2004) and MU (MU 2003) evaluations show how useful this process can be.
• Community consultation and involvement at the start and during the running of the program. Most of the programs reviewed had this element in them. There was a frequent use of committees made up of the local people/ participants who were there to help make decisions about how the classes and program were run. Local people were used as teachers.
• Flexibility in terms of meeting times and meeting places. The community helps choose the place which may just be under a tree or in existing community structures. Adaptation of the timetable to the agricultural calendar.
• Use of an integrated curriculum. Most programs integrated literacy and other subjects which could often be grouped under ‘life skills’. Gulliver Ishmael, Director of SEM said, ‘If you do not have this, learners become bored.’80
• Use of participatory classroom methods. Their aim to give participants the tools to analyse and make their own decisions rather than have solutions imposed on them, is a good one. Many programs were using these methods (E.g. SEM, MU, SOLO). It should also be noted that participatory approaches do not necessarily mean that REFLECT is being used. E.g. The documents relating to MULDP talk about using participatory methods but not REFLECT which suggests their own adaptation of PLA methods. Some facilitators seem to struggle with the use of REFLECT, perhaps because of the open ended nature of the approach and the need for a lot of confidence and creativity on the part of the facilitators81.
3.3.3 Culturally adapted curricula
It was difficult to gain much information on how programs have adapted their curricula for local culture. Most programs are trying to adapt to local conditions and needs, e.g. with timetables designed to fit in with the agricultural calendar. Materials that are brought in from the outside are arguably adapted to local conditions e.g. SEM brought in a trainers’ guide
79 Interview with Clement Arkangelo from ADRA, 18th July 2006. Noble and Mannesseh 2004. 80 Interview with Gulliver Ishmael from SEM, 22nd July 2006. 81 Interview with Gulliver Ishmael from SEM, 22nd July 2006.
66
from Sierra Leone and Guinea, but changed it to suit local conditions. The involvement of Sudanese in the design and delivery of programs also helps (e.g. SSIRI program). Most of the content of the programs seems related to skills for economic betterment and life skills. There were not many references to culture though issues related to health education must interact with cultural beliefs and practices. The author is able to comment much more on SIL’s courses because of her own familiarity with them. Most of SIL’s courses use culturally adapted curricula. For instance the Introductory Writers’ Workshop starts by asking the participants to compare oral and written communication and the advantages and disadvantages of both. It goes on to teach basic good writing skills focusing on a known oral genre; folk stories. It starts with people telling stories orally before attempting to write them down. It examines features in local languages which make writing colourful like, idiophones, idioms, metaphors and similes. Because most Africans are more community oriented there is more group discussion prior to writing and some group writing and review as opposed to all the work being done on an individual basis. The Intermediate Writer’s Workshop focuses on other types of written genre. It makes an attempt to develop a written style and writing which is related to the culture and the issues in the community. For instance for persuasional writing, participants are asked what things they would like to see changed in their community. They can later chose a written media that is appropriate for the persuasive text e.g. a song, story, article, poster etc. The SIL Translation Principles For Literacy course also relates to culture and the structure of the specific local language. For instance it looks at concepts which are known in one language but not another and how to translate them. It also looks at different areas of meaning and classification in different languages. Another way literacy and culture could be linked is through music. Music and songs are used for different purposes in Sudanese culture (e.g. welcoming people, relating a story, funerals). Songs are easy to learn and remember and if written down this could be one strand of a strategy to learn to read. Numeracy could also build on traditional numeracy82, i.e. the local counting system and terms used for quantifying volume, weight, length etc. It may also be possible to bring in community members to act as resources. This is a way for non-literate elders, for example, to participate and bolster cultural content. SIL produces quite a lot of printed materials that are written by local people that originate from their own cultures, e.g. proverbs, folk stories, local histories. There are also other items reflecting humour and enjoyment of language such as cartoons and types of word games and puzzles which are used in writing local newspapers. The author’s own experience with writers’ workshops generating some of these in indigenous languages, is that people enjoy these types of materials, which is itself a motivating factor. The author’s view is that it has been the sentimental/affective use of language which reflects the sentiments and cultural
82 E.g. For the Luwo people in Sudan: The word for ‘6’ is ‘abiihj be ciel’ meaning 5 plus 1 The word for ‘7’ is ‘abiihj be riow’ meaning 5 plus 2 etc. ’20’ is ‘dhaano aduuno’. This means literally ‘person circle’. The number 20 refers to 10 fingers and 10 toes. (From Joan Yoder personal communication, email 13th September 2006)
67
values of a language community which has enabled local language development to go ahead in difficult times. However in most literacy programs the emphasis is on the functional aspects of literacy. The challenge is integrating some of these more cultural materials with other parts of the curriculum relating to life skills. ‘Non-functional’ materials also have a place in their own right. Becoming literate is also a means to gain a better understanding of one’s own culture and for supporting that culture in a time of rapid social change (Hutchinson 2006:27). The use of local languages is in itself a major adaptation to local culture.
3.3.4 Difficulties faced by programs
All programs in Southern Sudan face challenges and difficulties. Some of the most frequently mentioned are given below:
• Insecurity, e.g. as a result of inter-tribal conflict or the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army.
• Lack of resources including funding, facilities, infrastructure.
• Various issues relating to the payment of teachers or trainers. Up to this point most NGOs have been unable to pay school teachers or teachers of adults. Communities, themselves extremely stretched by the circumstances of the war, have carried the burden of trying to support teachers of both kinds of program. Now, given the CPA and the establishment of the GOSS, most teachers, particularly school teachers are expectant of payment from GOSS. At the recent ERDF meeting nearly all the State education ministers saw this as a major problem in running education. Currently most NGOs supporting ALP seem to be paying the teachers a small amount (e.g. ACROSS, SBEP, SC UK) and at least ALP classes continue to run. However, there is expectation that the government will eventually pay the salaries for ALPs. If this payment from GOSS is not forthcoming, it will deepen the problems for education.
The problem of payment of teachers of adult literacy classes is less extreme because these classes are more part time. However, most perceived this as a threat and something that undermined the motivation of teachers. Some programs pay adult teachers a small incentive (e.g. ADRA pays them $10 a month) and even this seems to help. The MULDP pay their trainers only but not their facilitators.
3.4 Conclusions with regard to literacy, language and alternative learning
opportunities
The motivation for education in Southern Sudan is very high. The perception of those interviewed during this research, many of them Sudanese, is that people want their children to go to school, and are themselves very interested in education. Raphael Solomon Sabun83 gave his understanding of the motivation of the adults in the program that World Concern helps to run:
• They feel they lag behind and that they missed out.
• They are doing business but do not know how to count.
• There are those who want to read the Bible.
83 Interview with Raphael Solomon Sabun of World Concern, 6th June 2006.
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These cover economic, practical and spiritual reasons for wanting literacy or education. However the motivation that emerged most frequently from this study was an economic and practical one. Cultural or spiritual reasons for wanting literacy or education were not absent but much less frequently offered. Currently, of all the AES types of programs for adults or adolescents, it is only those which could be labelled as basic adult education/ literacy programs which offer literacy in the MT since CGS and SSIRI which have MT components in them, target children. ALP focuses on English though it is likely (and helpful in terms of aiding learning) that local languages and Arabic will continue to be used orally alongside English in most cases in the lower levels. Given the lack of knowledge of English, there is a definite place and need in the overall hierarchy of programs, for some programs that are either totally focused on MT literacy or follow bilingual and biliterate approaches. These approaches too, do less injustice to local cultures and languages. Even with biliterate approaches it would be good to devote some time at the beginning of the program totally to MT literacy. In addition it would good to give some space during a program for participants to consider and practice how literacies in local languages could be used. In addition, following the principle of moving from the known to the unknown gradually, it would be best to teach oral English initially without English literacy. Programs focusing only English language and literacy should also consider this approach. Generally speaking, material-less approaches to MT literacy offer certain advantages for the current stage of language and materials development in Southern Sudan. However the author recommends an approach which includes participatory methods but uses more learning materials including some kind of primer for teaching the early stages of literacy. It would also be good to aim for an integrated curricula which includes topics of relevance and interest to the learners and which bridges to the local culture. Also recommended is an approach which focuses on writing as well as reading, and creativity as well as skills and correctness. This kind of approach incorporates some of the strengths of REFLECT whilst tackling some of its drawbacks84. In addition, with newly written languages, the orthographies are not as likely to have been well assimilated by the teachers, so that even with high quality training, teaching helps would be useful. Many Southern Sudanese languages also have complex phonologies with a number of features differentiated, particularly vowel quality, length, and tone, which are not part of the orthographies of languages of wider communication like English that the teachers may have learnt. Without specifically covering these features in teaching material there is a danger that they will be overlooked.
84 Some of the strengths of REFLECT are that it is participatory, offers an integrated curriculum and encourages creativity and development of analytical skills. One of the disadvantages of REFLECT is it needs well trained and educated facilitators. It can also be argued that it suffers from a lack of definition as a literacy method and an ambiguity relating to its open endedness and the relative priority of literacy or empowerment. (For evaluation of various REFLECT programs see (Archer and Cottingham 1996) and (CIRAC 2001))
69
In addition, the early stages of teaching reading and writing are some of the most technical, and providing materials to guide the teacher through these steps can help compensate for lack training. At the later stages of literacy development learners also need more written materials than can be generated in a classroom in order to become fluent readers and to provide a variety of good examples for more advanced writing. Organisations involved should examine ways that training for adult facilitators in bilingual literacy programs could be improved particularly with respect to support for the MT component. This should include writer’s training, teaching practice in the MT, and some printed resources for the facilitator in the MT. This should not require a large overhead in resources as at least some materials which could potentially support teachers in their MT teaching already exist. Since almost all MTs in Sudan are newly written, or have recently revised orthographies, time should be allotted specifically for explaining, teaching, and practicing the orthography.
3.5 Recommendations for a strategy on literacy and alternative learning
opportunities
Different recommendations for a strategy on literacy and alternative learning opportunities based on an appropriate language strategy are given below. Not all these recommendations are intended as action points for UIE. However, all the areas below need attention.
3.5.1 Program types and literacy methodologies
There is a place for all sorts of programs, from those that are more formal and large scale to those that are smaller and more informal. Programs which include MT literacy have a place in the hierarchy of AES programs, particularly at the more basic and non-formal end. There are already a variety of adult literacy programs that include MT. Consideration should be given to strengthening these and including others. Strictly speaking, given that ALP covers the primary syllabus, the medium of instruction for level 1 and half of level 2, the equivalent of primary grades 1-3, should be the MT of the participants. A challenge in Southern Sudan is the number of languages. The language situation however should be not be made over complicated in that the largest four language groups cover over 60% of the population and the largest 10 language groups over 80%. In the short term, given the lack of resources and the relative formality of ALP, it is unlikely that it will be possible to implement ALP in all the major languages in the lower levels. However it would be good to consider some pilot ALP programs which incorporate MT instruction in someway85. Perhaps priority could be given to some of the larger rather than the smaller language groups, but those that are in someway more marginalised or isolated (in order to counteract this effect). Some of the groups in the previously GOS held parts of Southern Sudan, who have had almost no access to English might fall into this category. In addition parts of Bahr El-Ghazal and Upper Nile are quite physically isolated (e.g. it is difficult to travel to in the rainy season). This would also be a very relevant strategy for nomadic communities which have missed out more than other groups in terms of education. Two groups that fit many of these criteria are the two biggest language groups, Dinka and Nuer.
85 SC UK has always been very supportive of bilingual education and also aims to work with more marginalised populations. It possibly could be a potential partner in this kind of pilot program.
70
There are also plans to implement bilingual education in schools, though these are still in their infancy. It will only be possible to do this gradually and there will have to be criteria developed for the ordering and priority of languages in some kind of ‘roll-out’ plan. Use of the same languages for ALP could be hinged off this since there will be some things in common with the materials and teacher training. Whilst, material-less approaches offer some advantages for the current stage of language and materials development in Southern Sudan, the author would recommend an approach which includes participatory methods but uses more learning materials including some kind of primer for teaching the early stages of literacy. It would also be good to aim for an integrated curricula which includes topics of relevance and interest to the learners and which bridges to the local culture. MT teacher training should be strengthened, e.g., to at least include a strong element of MT writing. In addition, appropriate printed resources in the MT should be used in teacher training and supplied to each teacher. Given the current economic situation, self-sustainability should continue to be encouraged and some programs with part-time trainers will have to run largely with volunteers or with some small incentives. SSIRI considers that its radio instruction could be used for adults as well86. However in the author’s view, as currently conceived and commented earlier, it does not offer much support for MT literacy, though it is very helpful for English. Radio instruction has huge reach and is potentially very useful for remote areas with poorly trained teachers so strategies for its use for both children or adults (or perhaps a 'family approach' which incorporates both) which includes local languages should be considered. The problem of course is that developing specific materials and programs for different languages is resource intensive and probably only viable for larger groups. Some tentative initial thought has been given by SSIRI and others to instruction which is in Dinka and Nuer as these are two large groups which suffer from low enrolment and physical isolation (see the draft National Teacher Education Strategy (MOEST 2006c:34)).
3.5.2 Capacity building and institutional development
The role and aims of NIL should be designed to support both adult and children’s education in the MT. Support should be given to building the capacity of this institution and its personnel. There should be capacity building at different levels of government across Southern Sudan, e.g. MOEST, state, and county levels, in order for these to understand, manage and coordinate adult, non-formal education better and to stimulate the production of materials. There is a need for intermediate, medium-sized organisations that will play more of an advocacy role and represent local languages and CBOs involved with local languages at a higher level. Currently the voice of language based CBOs is barely heard in many of the higher level education meetings that take place. Perhaps SIL will be able to do more in this area now that it is relocating back to Southern Sudan. There is also a place for indigenous intermediate ‘umbrella type’ organisations. One model for this would be to have a national
86 Interview with Victor Vasquez of SSIRI, 20th July 2006.
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association of language committees which would both offer support and training to local language committees and play an advocacy and perhaps fundraising role87. The New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs Network (NESI) is an advocacy group for SINGOs. Perhaps it too could take up the issue of the use and role of local languages under its work in the Education Sector, though up till now this does not seem to have been one of its concerns. Many indigenous organisations including SINGOs and community based organisations need capacity building in order to run programs, e.g. technical and financial training.
3.5.3 Language development
SIL has been a key player in terms of language development activities such as linguistic research, orthography formation, materials development, and training MT speakers to do the same. It has sought to work with language communities through language committees (representing the community). NIL should increasingly become the supporting institution for language development. Alongside this, consideration should be given for how decisions about language development will be made. Possibly the role of language committees should be more formalised and more training and support given to them, even if it is expected that they are largely voluntary. It should also be considered where and how resources are given to local language development. This relates to issues to do with centralisation and decentralisation. NIL is currently conceived of as an institution supporting all the languages, but perhaps states could carry the cost of personnel involved in language development work for languages for which they have taken responsibility. GOSS in its constitution makes a commitment to the respect and development of all its indigenous languages. One way it could practically do this, is by allocation of money to each language group of Southern Sudan for language development related work via a trust fund88. It would be likely that extra resources would have to be found locally but at least each language group would have some resources for further development that could be used at its own pace. 89
3.5.4 Materials development
It is advisable that any organisation becoming involved in MT literacy first gain an understanding of the status of the orthography and decisions that have been made. SIL can provide helpful information on this. In addition, community members should be consulted, particularly those who have some experience and training as writers in the MT. It also needs to be determined who has the authority in terms of orthography decisions. Given that NIL is being conceived of as an institution that will support local language development,
87 In Cameroon the National Association of Cameroonian Language Committees (NACALCO) functions similarly to this (Trudell 2004) 88 There would have to be some criteria determining the amount of money for each group. Possible relevant criteria are the number of speakers of the language (more money should be given for more speaker but not proportionately more), and current level of language development (To promote equity amongst groups, less developed languages should be given more). 89 The author acknowledges Ian Smith of Buani Consulting for this idea ([email protected]).
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it could play a lead coordinating and supporting role (e.g. in offering technical advice) with the actual decisions for different languages made at the community level (which could work out to be at the level of the state or county). The highest priority materials to be developed should be materials that can support teachers including primers. The ideal would be for some materials which are of general use across all programs, e.g. spelling guides and dictionaries, to be produced by NIL. In the short term there are at least some these materials available, mainly through SIL and SLC. Attention should also be given to developing a body of materials in local languages, which will facilitate the learners' ongoing language use and skills development, contribute to language viability, and complement everyday usages such as record-keeping and letter writing. In the short term, it is unlikely that GOSS or NIL will have the capacity to do this. Therefore, some of the burden of materials development will fall on those implementing programs. Costs to do this should be built into funding proposals. Those funding programs also need to be willing to support a component of materials development within literacy projects, not simply program implementation costs. Where materials are being developed in local languages, those developing them should have some experience and training as writers of the languages, not just be literate in English. If materials are being translated, those involved should have some training in translation90. Some consideration should be given to ways that local small-scale production of written materials, including those in local languages, could be supported. This might include small ‘print shops’ with basic computer and printing facilities at county level. Possibly they could be attached to county education centres. These could be open to members of the appropriately trained public to do simple desk-top publishing and printing, perhaps covering only the cost of their printing.
3.5.5 Coordination and information dissemination
Coordinating mechanisms between those involved in adult education needs to be improved since many do not have a good idea of what others are doing. Without coordination there is danger that 'supporting' stakeholders create conflicting or duplicating agendas, making things more difficult. There is currently an AES working group. However it mostly includes those involved in ALP. Others involved in basic education and literacy, including community based organisations and church groups should be part of this. However many CBOs or church based groups would probably not have the capacity to attend a central meeting like this. MOEST should play a part in compiling information about who is doing what in adult education, what resources there are available, and sharing this information. A Southern Sudanese website devoted to non-formal adult education and literacy programs would be helpful for information and resource sharing.
3.5.6 Curriculum development and standardisation
There is a need for harmonisation and standardisation. Some standards for levels of adult literacy should be defined for both MT and English. Organisations could then use these to assess their participants. This would also help different programs to fit together better.
90 SIL runs some ‘translation principals for literacy workers’ courses.
73
There is a need for an adult education curriculum. At some stage, adult curriculum and materials should be more standardised. There is also a need for more standardised training and qualifications for adult education trainers both relating to Southern Sudanese and English languages and other subjects. It is possible that some of the modules for teacher education for schools (currently only relating to English) may be applicable to trainers of adults as well.
3.5.7 MOEST
MOEST should consider resource allocation to adult literacy as it is a major area of need. MOEST should seek out additional potential international partners to help with technical assistance in terms of bilingual education for both adults and children. SIL has historically played a large role in IRL, the predecessor of NIL, and in language development. It will continue to play a role, but currently in terms of personnel, it is under half the size of what it was in the 1980s. So, it has a more limited capacity91. In preparation for the literacy campaign, MOEST needs to consider what changes can be made to really support AES. People already know that education and literacy are needs, but largely do not have the capacity to do anything about them. MOEST should consider how it can encourage and support many of the smaller, less-formal local literacy initiatives.
3.5.8 Further research
It would be good to investigate and experiment more with literacy methods and approaches which give space to adult learners themselves for the exploration, development and use of local literacies in local languages. A good starting point for this would be the use of PLA tools.
91 Some possibilities might be: GTZ, UNESCO, Centre for Applied Linguistics in Washington, Various academic institutions such School for African and Oriental Studies in London.
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Annex 1 List of those Contacted
Contact information for organisations
Type of Contact Organisatio
n (listed in
alphabetica
l order)
Name(s) Email(s) Address
Questi
onnair
e by
discussio
n
Face to
face
intervie
w
Organisati
onal
document
s received
from the
contact
ACROSS Christine Perkins Anthony Poggo Russ and Lynn Noble
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
PO BOX 44838 00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya
� � � �
ADRA Clement Arkangelo
�
AET Emma Page [email protected]
AET, Suswa 2 , Longonot Place Apts, Harry Thuku Road, Nairobi PO Box 189-00621
�
Apuk Community Development Agency
Lino Kiir Kuony Jok
[email protected] [email doesn’t seem to be working]
College of education, English Department, University of Bahr El-Ghazal, Wau
�
Avokaya literacy
c/o Eileen Kilpatrick or Lynne Callinan
[email protected] [email protected]
�
Catholic Diocese of Juba
Father Santo Loku Pio Edward Odwour
St Joseph, Catholic Diocese of Juba
�
78
Type of Contact Organisatio
n (listed in
alphabetica
l order)
Name(s) Email(s) Address
Questi
onnair
e by
discussio
n
Face to
face
intervie
w
Organisati
onal
document
s received
from the
contact
CRS Willie Kiarie Adele Sowinska
[email protected] [email protected]
PO BOX 48932 MUTHITHI ROAD, WESTLANDS NAIROBI 00100 - GPO
� �
CMS Ireland
Jenny Smyth [email protected]
�
ECHO BRAVO
Barry Sessnan [email protected]
�
Luanyjang Charitable Organisation
Caguor Adong Manyang Ater
University of Bahr El-Ghazal College of Education Department of English
�
MOEST Kuol Atem Bol [email protected]
Ministry of Education, Juba
�
Morokodo Language Literacy
Silvano Sebit Gono
Could be contacted via Jackie Marshall: [email protected]
�
Mothers’ Union
Barbara Lawes Ruta Yoseke Laila Clementina Kiden Dragga Sarah Jamba Festo Rebecca Adaw Riak
� � �
Mundu Literacy
c/o Alice Van Bergen
�
NESI Network
Selestine Otom [email protected]
� �
79
Type of Contact Organisatio
n (listed in
alphabetica
l order)
Name(s) Email(s) Address
Questi
onnair
e by
discussio
n
Face to
face
intervie
w
Organisati
onal
document
s received
from the
contact
SBEP Tom Tilson (but has now left SBEP)
�
SC Sweden Rose Wahome [email protected]
Box 19243 202 KNH – Nairobi, Kenya
�
SC UK Sandra Graham Emilly Echessa
[email protected] [email protected]
� � � �
SEM Suzan Voga Gulliver Ishmael
� � � �
SIL Andrew Persson Leoma Gilley
�
SOLO Mohammed Al Makki Osman
House No 17, Block 3/41 P. O. Box 8370 Khartoum 2 Sudan
� �
SSIRI Leesa Kaplan victor vasquez
[email protected] [email protected]
28 Mugumo Rd, Nairobi, Kenya PO Box 25010-00603
� � �
World Concern
Raphael Solomon Sabun
Can be contacted c/o [email protected]
tel:+8821643331821
�
Contact information for individuals
Type of Contact Name(s) Email(s)
Language
Domain
Questionnaire
by email
discu
ssion
Face to face
interview
Peter Akalkal [email protected] �
Kenneth Baringwa [email protected] �
Dario Lokure Beato [email protected] � �
James Lokuuda [email protected] �
80
Type of Contact Name(s) Email(s)
Language
Domain
Questionnaire
by email
discu
ssion
Face to face
interview
Elisa Ayan Cosmas Moses Tabu Peter Ezekia Likambo Yason
Can be contacted via Kathryn Arden: [email protected]
� �
Rebecca Dawidi Ben Surur
[email protected] [email protected]
� �
Dominic Thomas ? �
Amos Awan De Gak Akol Kongoor Reech Moses Mading Marial Martin Mayen Chout
Henry Manyual [email protected]
� �
Tito Taban Matia Elly Joseph Fataki
Can be contacted via Kathryn Arden: [email protected]
� �
81
Annex 2 Blank Organisational Questionnaire
82
Questionnaire regarding basic, non-formal education and the role of
languages in South Sudan
(towards UNESCO Institute of Education research)
1.
Is your organisation involved in basic, non-formal education in South Sudan?
(Please include basic technical and vocational training.) Only complete this
questionnaire if your answer is yes.
2.
Organisation name:
3. Name of person completing the questionnaire:
4. Role in organisation:
Contact details:
a) Address:
b) Email:
5.
c) Phone:
6. Who are you targeting with your program(s) and what are their learning
needs?
7. What is the aim of your program?
8. What subjects are included in your program?
9. How is the program adapted to local conditions and needs?
10. Which parts of South Sudan is the program running in? (Please give county or
town, and state).
11. Give some indication of size of the programs (e.g. number of classes, teachers,
total number participants)
83
12. Are the classes full time or part time?
13. How long does it take for a participant to complete the program?
What languages are used in the program:
a) In terms of
spoken languages
used?
14.
b) In terms of
written languages
used and any
printed
materials?
15. Are any languages being taught as part of this program? If yes, which ones?
16. Is literacy being taught in the program? If yes, in which languages?
17. Is numeracy being taught in the program?
18. What are the strengths of the program?
19. What are the weaknesses of the program?
20. Are there any things that threaten the program?
21. What opportunities do you see for the program?
22. Is there anything else about your program that you think is significant, that
you wish to add?
23. Which other significant groups would benefit from non-formal education?
If you have a recent annual report or evaluation that covers your program and which
fills in more details, please send those by email attachment.
Contact details of researcher: Jackie Marshall, [email protected] c/o SIL-Sudan, P.O. Box 750, Entebbe, Uganda
84
Annex 3 Blank Questionnaire on Domains of Language Use
85
Date:
Informant(s):
Mother Tongue:
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State:
County:
Town (if applicable):
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes
Market
Place of worship (e.g. church)
Community meetings
Schools
Government offices
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: )
Homes
Market
Place of worship (e.g. church)
Community meetings
Schools
Government offices
Notes:
More than one language may be specified for one place e.g. Baka and Southern Arabic might be spoken in the home. If one language is mainly used, can say something like, ‘mainly Baka with a little Southern Arabic’ Please also specify the type of Arabic, i.e. Southern Arabic or Khartoum Arabic If there are no government offices in the rural area then just answer ‘n/a’ (not applicable) Feel free to add explanatory notes, e.g. In church Zande is use for the readings (because there is a Bible) but Southern Arabic for the preaching.
86
Annex 4 Completed Questionnaires on Domains of Language
Use
Notes:
1. The completed questionnaires have been compressed together with the explanatory notes that were at the bottom of the blank questionnaire stripped out.
2. They have been ordered in alphabetical order of the mother tongue of the informants.
Date: 18
th May 2006
Informant(s): Elly Joseph Fataki
Mother Tongue: Baka
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Bahr El-Jebel
County: Yei
Town (if applicable): Yei
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Baka
Market Baka and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Baka but with Southern Arabic if some don’t speak Baka
Community meetings Baka
Schools Used to use Baka and English, now mostly only using English. In one area they are still trying to use some Baka
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Yei )
Homes Baka and Southern Arabic
Market Kakwa and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Zande or Bangala are used for the readings – Bibles or liturgy exist in these languages. Preaching is in Southern Arabic.
Community meetings Southern Arabic
Schools English
Government offices English and a little Southern Arabic
Date: 18th May 2006
Informant(s): Tito Taban Matia
Mother Tongue: Baka
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Western Equatoria
County: Maridi
Town (if applicable): Maridi
87
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Baka
Market Baka and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Baka but with Southern Arabic if some don’t speak Baka
Community meetings Baka
Schools Used to use Baka and English, now mostly only using English. In one area they are still trying to use some Baka
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Maridi )
Homes Tito’s wife is half Avokaya and half Mundu, though she has lost a lot of her Mundu language. So in Tito’s home, a mix of Baka, Avokaya and Southern Arabic is used
Market Mostly Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Zande, English and Mundu (NTs exist for Zande and Mundu, so these are used for readings)
Community meetings If not mixed, Baka is used otherwise Southern Arabic is used.
Schools English and Southern Arabic
Government offices English and a little Southern Arabic
Date: 1
st June 2006
Informant(s): Dominic Thomas
Mother Tongue: Bari
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Bahr – el -Jebel
County: Juba County
Town (if applicable): Juba
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Bari
Market Bari
Place of worship (e.g. church) Bari
Community meetings Bari
Schools Bari and English with Arabic as a subject
Government offices English and a little Juba Arabic
88
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Juba )
Homes Juba Arabic
Market Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) May have a mass in English, Bari or Arabic. (A New Testament exists in Bari)
Community meetings Depends on the community. Mainly Juba Arabic
Schools Different in different schools. Juba Arabic, Khartoum Arabic, English
Government offices Juba Arabic
Date: 2nd June 2006
Informant(s):
Ruta Yoseke Laila
Clementina Kiden Dragga
Sarah Jamba Festo
Mother Tongue: Bari
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Bahr – el -Jebel
County: Juba County
Town (if applicable): Juba
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Bari
Market Mostly Bari. If speaking to a stranger Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Bari
Community meetings Bari
Schools This year will start using Bari. Juba Arabic and English
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Juba )
Homes Juba Arabic and a little Bari
Market Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) English, Bari and Juba Arabic.
89
Community meetings Juba Arabic
Schools Different in different schools. Juba Arabic, Khartoum Arabic, English
Government offices Juba Arabic, Khartoum Arabic and English.
Date: 4th July 2006
Informant(s): Dario Lokure Beato
Mother Tongue: Didinga
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Eastern Equatoria
County: Budi
Town (if applicable): Chukudum
(Dario last visited Chkumdim for a month in Feb 2006)
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Didinga
Market Didinga and Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Didinga, in some which have become more mixed( e.g. because of soldiers) Didinga and Juba Arabic
Community meetings Didinga and Juba Arabic (if mixed community)
Schools Didinga, English
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Chukudum )
Homes Didinga
Market Didinga and Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Didinga, English and Juba Arabic Daily prayer in Didinga but on Sundays would use all three languages. If the priest is not Didinga, someone will translate to English or Juba Arabic
Community meetings Juba Arabic and Didinga (Because might be mixed). Perhaps some English for educated.
Schools Primary school is still being renovated. Didinga and English
Government offices Juba Arabic and English
90
Date: 10th May 2006
Informant(s):
Akol Kongoor Reech Moses Mading Marial Amos Awan De Gak Martin Mayen Chout
Mother Tongue: Dinka (the group is a mix of Bor and Agaar Dialects)
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Lakes
County: Rumbek
Town (if applicable): Rumbek
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Dinka
Market Dinka
Place of worship (e.g. church) Dinka
Community meetings Dinka plus a little Khartoum Arabic
Schools English plus Khartoum Arabic
Government offices English plus Khartoum Arabic
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Rumbek )
Homes Dinka plus a little Khartoum Arabic
Market Dinka plus Khartoum Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Dinka and a little English
Community meetings Dinka if not a mixed group
Schools English plus Khartoum Arabic
Government offices English plus Khartoum Arabic
Date: 16th May 2006 Informant(s): The three people interviewed come from the Keliko area and cover an age range of about 30-45 years old. They were taught in different languages in primary school. Moses (36) was taught in Bari in P1 and P2 around 1976. Elisa (30) was born in Uganda in 1975 and had primary education in English in Uganda. Ezekia (c45) went to school in Congo, was taught in French, then in Sudan he was taught in English.
Mother Tongue: Keliko Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Bahr El- Jebel County: Morobo County Town (if applicable): Morobo
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Mostly Keliko, but also Kakwa and Southern Arabic. (Kakwa and Keliko intermarry)
91
Market Keliko
Place of worship (e.g. church) Prayer book and Bible are in Bari. Preacher translates Bible readings into Keliko. Church is supportive of mother tongue use.
Community meetings Keliko, unless visitors come, then translate into Southern Arabic or English.
Schools P1-P3 teach in Keliko. P4 + teach in English. (Before Keliko Alphabet Book printed, teachers wrote in English and explained things in Keliko. Now P3-P5 teacher introduces English alphabet and teaches in English.)
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Morobo )
Homes Morobo town is a mix of Keliko and Kakwa, and Southern Arabic is also used.
Market Keliko, Kakwa and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Kakwa/Bari
Community meetings Kakwa and Southern Arabic
Schools Not sure if schools are using mother tongue materials in Bari yet, if not English and Southern Arabic.
Government offices English
Date: 27
th June 2006
Informant(s): Henry Manyual Lual Ucu
Mother Tongue: Luwo
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Western Bahr Ghazal
County:
Towns (if applicable): Mapel and Wau
Henry described Mapel as a very small town i.e. though not completely rural
relatively rural. So in this case is was used as a contrast with Wau
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
(town in focus: Mapel)
Homes Luwo
92
Market Mainly Khartoum Arabic with some Dinka and Luwo
Place of worship (e.g. church) English and Luwo
Community meetings Khartoum Arabic and Luwo
Schools English
Government offices n/a
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Wau, in a neighbourhood called Nazareth which is a
Luwo area )
Homes Luwo
Market Khartoum Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Khartoum Arabic
Community meetings Depends on meeting. If only Luwo, Luwo used, otherwise Khartoum Arabic
Schools Khartoum Arabic
Government offices Khartoum Arabic and English
Other comments from Henry: When intellectuals (e.g. University graduates) gather they like to use English together. One reason Henry offered for this is that until 1980 even the university of Khartoum used English as a medium of instruction
Date: 08/06/06
Informant(s): Ben Surur, Sudan Radio Service & Rebecca Dawidi, Women Desk,
Diocese of Lui (ECS)
Mother Tongue: Moru
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Western Equatoria
County: East Mundri County
Town (if applicable):
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Moru
Market Moru
Place of worship (e.g. church) Moru (all liturgical books are in Moru)
93
Community meetings Moru
Schools Moru, English with a little Southern Arabic
Government offices Moru, English and some Southern Arabic
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Lui )
Homes Mainly Moru with a little Southern Arabic
Market Moru, Southern Arabic and some English
Place of worship (e.g. church) Moru with interpretation of preaching in Southern Arabic
Community meetings English, Moru and Arabic some Southern
Schools English, Moru and some Southern Arabic
Government offices English, Southern Arabic and Moru
Date: 12/06/06
Informant(s): Canon Kenneth Baringwa
Mother Tongue: Moru
Location in South Sudan in focus: Kotobi
State: Western Equatoria
County: West Mundri
Town (if applicable):
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Moru
Market Moru
Place of worship (e.g. church) Moru
Community meetings Moru
Schools Moru and English
Government offices Moru, English and a little Southern Arabic
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Kotobi )
Homes Moru and some Southern Arabic
Market Moru, Southern Arabic and some English
94
Place of worship (e.g. church) Moru because all liturgical books are in Moru. Preaching is interpreted into Southern Arabic but there is English services at 9 am.
Community meetings Moru, English and Southern Arabic
Schools Moru, English and Khartoum Arabic for the upper class
Government offices Moru, English and Southern Arabic
Date: 30 May 2006
Informant(s): Olla Peter Akalkal
Mother Tongue: Otuho Language
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Eastern Equatoria
County: Torit County
Town (if applicable): Torit
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Mainly Otuho language
Market Otuho Language and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Mainly Otuho because the Bible is in Otuho, and Southern Arabic is not widely known.
Community meetings Mainly Otuho
Schools Otuho and English with little Southern Arabic
Government offices Otuho, English and Southern Arabic
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: Torit )
Homes Otuho and Southern Arabic
Market Otuho and Southern Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Otuho, Southern Arabic and English (Because of the cosmopolitan nature of the people living in Torit. Therefore the church decided to conduct three masses on Sundays)
Community meetings Otuho and Southern Arabic (English maybe used depending on how formal the meeting is)
95
Schools English, Southern Arabic and Otuho
Government offices Southern Arabic, English and Otuho
Date: 2006-06-05
Informant(s): Lokuuda
Mother Tongue: Toposa
Location in South Sudan in focus:
State: Eastern Equatoria State
County: Kapoeta North County
Town (if applicable): Kapoeta
(First placed Language means it is the preferred one)
In rural areas what languages are used in the following places:
Homes Toposa
Market Toposa and Juba Arabic
Place of worship (e.g. church) Toposa, Juba Arabic
Community meetings Toposa
Schools Toposa (P1-P3), English
Government offices Toposa, Juba Arabic, English
In towns what languages are used in the following places:
(Please give the town in focus: )
Homes Juba Arabic, Toposa
Market Juba Arabic, Toposa
Place of worship (e.g. church) Toposa, Juba Arabic, English
Community meetings Toposa, Juba Arabic, English
Schools English, Toposa
Government offices Juba Arabic, English, Toposa
96
Annex 5 Interview Guide Concerning Non-Formal Education
and Languages
97
Determine the area of South Sudan which is in focus. For those living outside of Sudan it
should be an area they know and visit. For those inside it will usually be the area they
are living in:
Location in South Sudan in Focus:
State:
County:
Town/ Village:
In terms of non-formal education what are the main needs in this location? Which
groups have a need for non-formal education?
What do they need education/training in?
Which organisations do you know of which are doing work in the area of non-formal
education?
What languages do they use to do this?
Do any programs adapt their training to local culture/conditions?
What do they think about which languages should be used in non-formal education?
98
What printed materials exist, in which languages?
Are there radio programs? In which languages?
Are there any newspapers or magazines? In which languages?
In the villages/rural areas what languages are spoken?
In home:
In work:
Market:
Place of worship (e.g. church):
Community Meetings:
School:
Government offices:
In the Towns what languages are spoken?
In home:
Market:
Place of worship (e.g. church):
Community Meetings:
99
School:
Government offices:
What are the important institutions/organisations that are interested in local languages
and cultures in S Sudan?
What else do you think is important in the area of local languages and non-formal
education?
100
Annex 6 Detailed Data on Southern Sudanese languages
Note that the write-up below is a reduced form of what appears in (Marshall 2005: 65) Table 7 below gives data from the Ethnologue (SIL 2005) for languages found in Southern Sudan. Note that the table lists populations of first language speakers. Although Juba Arabic is mainly used as a second language, and some might not consider it an indigenous language of the South, it is included because it is the first language for a small number of Southern Sudanese. Languages are listed from the largest population of speakers to the smallest. The population figures given for different language groups should be treated cautiously as they come from different sources from different dates. Given that there has been civil war in the Southern Sudan for much of the last 50 years, population data has been difficult to collect. Associated factors make population growth less predicable due to events like people displacements, famines and war casualties. In addition it is possible, that some figures are merely extrapolations of earlier figures92. But given that no better data is currently available, these figures can at least be used as a guide. The population figures given for particular dates, have been extrapolated to give an estimate for the year 2003, and these are the figures used for comparison purposes. The extrapolation has been done using a natural growth rate (crude birth rate minus crude death rate) of 2.85% per year which is the rate that NSCSE and UNCEF have used in their population estimates (NSCSE 2004:27). This should help give a more accurate idea of the sizes of different language groups and allow for some comparisons with each other. In fact the total population for Southern Sudan from the table, using the extrapolated population data comes to close the NSCSE (2004:27) estimate of 7.5 million, which is reassuring. What Table 7 does not show very clearly, is how the languages are related. This is better revealed below in Table 8 on page 112. This can alternatively be pictured as a ‘tree’, with main ‘trunks’ being the languages families already mentioned, and different branches coming off these main trunks. Languages sharing a common branch are closely related and somewhat mutually intelligible. Another way of describing this is that languages exist in closely related clusters.
92 The last national census which included South Sudan was done in 1983 but does not appear to have included much data on language use. The 1993 census did not include Southern Sudan (NSCSE 2004:27).
101
Table 7 Data on the languages of Southern Sudan
Notes on Table
1. The data source is the Ethnologue (SIL 2005). 2. Languages are listed from largest to smallest in population. 3. The table includes a column which gives ‘Dialect information and lexical similarity’. Lexical similarity is measured by comparing word lists
with words of the same meaning from both languages. It is the percentage of words that are the same or similar. Where this is done with languages which are closely related (i.e. grammatically similar) this should give a measure of mutual comprehensibility.
4. The ‘Role’ column gives some information about whether the language has been selected for use in education. E.g. Role A languages were selected by the colonial administration in 1928 for use in schools.
Language Alternate
names Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use,
bilingualism etc Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
1 NUER Naath, Naadh.
Dor (Door), Eastern Jikany (Jikain, Jekaing), Abigar, Western Jikany, Cien, Thognaath (Thok Nath), Lou (Lau), Nyuong, Thiang (Bul, Gawaar, Jagai, Laak, Leik). Dialects correspond mainly to geographic divisions
Speakers also use Arabic 740,000 1982 SIL 1,335,125 18.52% Nilotic A 18.52%
2 DINKA, SOUTHWESTERN (REK)
Rek, Western Dinka.
Rek (Raik), Abiem (Ajong Dit, Ajong Thi, Akany Kok, Akern Jok, Apuoth, Apwoth, Anei), Aguok (Agwok), Apuk, Awan, Lau, Luac, Malual (Malwal, Atoktou, Duliit, Korok, Makem, Peth), Paliet (Baliet, Ajak, Buoncwai, Bon Shwai, Bwoncwai, Kongder, Kondair, Thany Bur, Tainbour), Palioupiny (Palioping, Akjuet, Akwang, Ayat, Cimel, Gomjuer), Tuic (Twic, Twich, Twij, Adhiang, Amiol, Nyang, Thon). Luac dialect is different from Luac dialect in Northeastern Dinka. Lexical similarity 89% with South Central Dinka, 90% with Southeastern Dinka
Speakers also use Sudanese Arabic
450,000 1982 UBS 811,900 11.26% Nilotic A 29.78%
102
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
3 ZANDE Azande, Zandi, Pazande, Sande, Badjande.
Dio, Makaraka (Odio). 350,000 1982 SIL 631,478 8.76% Niger-Congo
A 38.54%
4 DINKA, NORTHEASTERN (PADANG)
Padang, White Nile Dinka.
Abiliang (Dinka Ibrahim, Akoon, Bawom, Bowom), Dongjol, Luac (Luaic), Ngok-Sobat (Ngork, Jok), Ageer (Ager, Ageir, Abuya, Beer, Niel, Nyel, Paloc, Paloic), Rut, Thoi. Lexical similarity 92% with Northwestern Dinka, 88% with Southwestern Dinka, 88% with Southeastern Dinka, 86% with South Central Dinka.
Speakers also use Sudanese Arabic
320,000 1986 UBS 515,968 7.16% Nilotic A 45.70%
5 BARI Beri Kuku, Nyangbara (Nyangwara, Nyambara), Nyepu (Nyefu, Nyepo, Nypho, Ngyepu), Pöjulu (Pajulu, Fadjulu, Fajelu, Madi), Ligo (Liggo). Lexical similarity 86% with Ngyepu, 85% with Pöjulu, 81% with Kuku, 80% with Nyangwara, 71% with Mondari, 73% with Kakwa
420,000 2000 456,943 6.34% Nilotic A 52.04%
6 DINKA, SOUTH CENTRAL (AGAR)
Agar, Central Dinka.
Aliap (Aliab, Thany, Aker), Ciec (Ciem, Cic, Chiech, Kwac, Ajak, Ador), Gok (Gauk, Cok), Agar. Gok is also influenced by Southwestern Dinka and has a number of Arabic loans. Agar is becoming accepted as the educational standard for South Central Dinka. Lexical similarity 90% with Southeastern Dinka
Speakers also use Sudanese Arabic
250,000 1982 UBS 451,056 6.26% Nilotic A 58.29%
7 DINKA, SOUTHEASTERN (BOR)
Bor, Eastern Dinka.
Bor (Bor Gok), Athoc (Athoic, Atoc, Borathoi, Bor Athoic), Ghol, Nyarweng (Nyarueng, Narreweng), Tuic (Twi)
Sudanese Arabic is the second language. Speakers of some dialects also speak Nuer Gewaar and Nuer Lou
250,000 1982 UBS 451,056 6.26% Nilotic A 64.55%
8 SHILLUK Colo, Dhocolo, Chulla, Shulla.
Lexical similarity 60% with Anuak, Pari, Luwo 175,000 1982 SIL 315,739 4.38% Nilotic A 68.93%
103
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
9 OTUHO Lotuko, Lotuho, Lotuxo, Lotuka, Lattuka, Latuko, Latuka, Latooka, Otuxo, Olotorit.
Koriok, Logiri (Logir), Lomya (Lomia), Lorwama, Lowudo (Loudo, Lauda), Logotok. Lexical similarity 64% with Lokoya, 63% with Lopit, 60% with Dongotono
135,000 1977 Voegelin and
Voegelin
280,314 3.89% Nilotic A 72.82%
10 LUWO Lwo, Jur Luo, Jur Lwo, Jo Lwo, Dhe Lwo, Dhe Luwo, Giur.
Different from Lwo of Uganda, or Luo of Kenya and Tanzania, but related
Vigorous. Thuri speakers sometimes use Luwo as second language. All domains, local administration, some use in schools, churches. Positive language attitude. Speakers also use Dinka, English, or Arabic
80,000 1983 census 140,338 1.95% Nilotic B 74.76%
11 DINKA, NORTHWESTERN (ALOR)
Ruweng. Alor, Ngok-Kordofan, Pan Aru, Pawany. A separate language from other Dinka (J. Duerksen SIL). Lexical similarity 88% with Southwestern Dinka and Southeastern Dinka, 84% with South Central Dinka
80,000 1986 128,992 1.79% Nilotic A 76.55%
12 MORU Kala Moru. Agi, Andri, 'Bali'ba, Kadiro, Lakama'di, Miza, Moruwa'di. Andri and 'Bali'ba dialects are similar, Kadiro and Lakama'di are nearly identical
70,000 1982 SIL 126,296 1.75% Moru Ma'di
A 78.31%
13 MANDARI Mondari, Mundari, Shir, Chir, Kir.
A different language and culture from Bari. Lexical similarity 75% with Nyanggwara, 71% with Bari and Ngyepu, 70% with Pöjulu, 66% with Kuku, 61% with Kakwa
116,000 2000 WCD 126,203 1.75% Nilotic 80.06%
104
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
14 DIDINGA 'Di'dinga, Xaroxa, Toi, Lango.
Ethnic groups: Chukudum, Lowudo. Slight differences in speech between Chukudum and Lowudo, apparently mainly phonetic. Lexical similarity 83% with Narim, 71% with Murle.
100,000 2000 108,796 1.51% Surmic B 81.57%
15 TOPOSA Taposa, Topotha, Akara, Kare, Kumi.
Eastern Toposa, Western Toposa, Jiye. Eastern Toposa and Jiye are linguistically closer to Turkana; Western Toposa to Karamojong. Inherently intelligible with Nyangatom, Karamojong, and Turkana, but each has strong ethnic attitudes. Separate literature is needed also because of loans from different second languages, and different discourse structures. Limited intelligibility of Teso
Vigorous. Neighboring groups use it in trade (Didinga, Murle, Boya-Longarim, Tennet). All domains. Positive language attitude. The Toposa are peaceful with the Karamojong, have a mutual nonagression pact with the Nyangatom, are intermittently unfriendly to the Jiye of Sudan, permanently in tension with the Turkana, and to the Murle-Didinga group (Murle, Didinga, Boya-Longarim). A small number speak Southern Sudanese Arabic (Juba Arabic) for trading. A few know some English from school
100,000 2000 M. Schroe
der
108,796 1.51% Nilotic B 83.07%
16 MURLE Murelei, Merule, Mourle, Murule, Beir, Ajibba, Agiba, Adkibba.
Related to Didinga. Subgroups: Lotilla, Boma, Olam (Ngalam). Maacir may be a dialect or ethnic group. Lexical similarity 74% with Narim, 71% with Didinga
60,000 1982 SIL 108,253 1.50% Surmic B 84.58%
17 JUR MODO Modo, Jur. Lori, Modo (Jur Modo, Modo Lali), Wira, Wetu
100,000 2004 SIL 97,229 1.35% Central Sudani
c
B 85.92%
105
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
18 KAKWA Bari Kakwa, Kakua, Kwakwak, Kakwak
People are friendly with the Toposa; unfriendly to the Turkana
40,000 1978 SIL 80,755 1.12% Nilotic 87.04%
19 ANUAK Anywak, Anywa, Yambo, Jambo, Nuro, Anyuak, Dho Anywaa
Closer to Acholi and Luo of Uganda than to Shilluk
52,000 1991 UBS 72,854 1.01% Nilotic B 88.06%
20 LOPPIT Loppit, Lopid, Lofit, Lafite, Lafit, Lafiit.
Lexical similarity 63% with Otuho 50,000 1995 Scott Randall
62,604 0.87% Nilotic 88.92%
21 REEL Atuot, Atwot, Thok Cieng Reel.
No dialect differences. Lexical similarity 77% with Nuer; 49% with Dinka
50,000 1998 Atuot commu
nity
57,543 0.80% Nilotic 89.72%
22 JUMJUM Berin, Olga, Wadega
50,400 2000 WCD 54,833 0.76% Nilotic 90.48%
23 MABAAN Maaban, Meban, Southern Burun, Gura, Tungan, Barga, Tonko, Ulu.
Partially intelligible with some southern dialects of Burun
50,400 2000 WCD 54,833 0.76% Nilotic B 91.24%
24 ACHOLI Acoli, Atscholi, Shuli, Gang, Lwo, Akoli, Acooli, Log Acoli, Dok Acoli
Labwor, Nyakwai, Dhopaluo (Chopi, Chope). 45,000 2000 48,958 0.68% Nilotic B 91.92%
25 PÄRI Lokoro 28,000 1987 SIL 43,896 0.61% Nilotic 92.53%
106
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
26 LOKOYA Lokoiya, Lokoja, Loquia, Lowoi, Owoi, Loirya, Oirya, Ellyria, Oxoriok, Koyo.
Lexical similarity 64% with Otuho, 57% with Lopit, 56% with Dongotono
Speakers are reported to be bilingual in Otuho
40,100 2000 WCD 43,627 0.61% Nilotic 93.14%
27 MÜNDÜ Mundo, Mountou, Mondu, Mondo.
Shatt. Closest to Mayogo and Bangba of Democratic Republic of the Congo
There is intermarriage with the Avokaya and Baka, and bilingualism in those languages. Some bilingualism also in Bangala and Arabic
23,000 1982 SIL 41,497 0.58% Niger-Congo
B 93.71%
28 AVOKAYA Abukeia, Avukaya.
Ojila (Odzila, Odziliwa), Ajugu (Adjiga, Ojiga, Agamoru). Close to Logo. Avokaya Pur near Faradje is closer to Logo than to the Ojila dialect of Sudan
intermarriage and bilingualism with the Baka and Mundu, especially near Maridi
40,000 2002 41,140 0.57% Moru Ma'di
B 94.28%
29 BELANDA VIRI
Viri, Bviri, Biri, Gumba, Gamba, Mbegumba, Mvegumba, Belanda
Speakers also use Belanda Bor
16,000 1971 Welmers
39,324 0.55% Niger-Congo
B 94.83%
30 BURUN Barun, Lange, Cai, Borun.
Ragreig, Abuldugu (Bogon, Mugo-Mborkoina), Maiak, Mufwa (Mopo), Mughaja (Mugaja, Mumughadja). Some southern dialects are intelligible with Mabaan
18,000 1977 Voegelin and
Voegelin
37,375 0.52% Nilotic 95.35%
107
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
31 BAKA Tara Baka Sudanese Creole Arabic is the main second language. Zande is taught in school and used in church. Some speakers intermarry with the Avokaya and Mundu and also use those languages. Moru also used
25,000 1993 UBS 33,112 0.46% Central Sudani
c
B 95.81%
32 MA'DI Ma'adi, Ma'diti.
Pandikeri, Lokai, Burulo 18,000 1982 SIL 32,476 0.45% Moru Ma'di
B 96.26%
33 ARABIC, SUDANESE CREOLE (JUBA ARABIC)
Juba Arabic, Southern Sudan Arabic, Pidgin Arabic
Difficult intelligibility of Nubi, Sudanese Arabic, or Modern Standard Arabic.
Trade language. 44,000 second-language speakers. Used as the major language of communication among speakers of different languages in Equatoria, south of Wau and Malakal. Used in many religious services as first or second language in Juba and a few other towns. Most people in towns speak at least two languages, and it is common for them to speak Creole Arabic, English, and 1, 2, or 3 vernaculars
20,000 1987 31,354 0.43% 96.69%
34 LANGO Langgo. A separate language from Otuho Speakers also use Otuho 20,000 1987 SIL 31,354 0.43% Nilotic 97.13%
108
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
35 NDOGO Language of wider communication. Vigorous in most areas. Spoken as a second language by the Golo, Gbaya at Deim Zubeir, Bai, West Central Banda, Balanda, Golo, Sere, some Gbaya, Woro, some Luwo. All domains. Oral use in courts, commerce, personal letters. Used in first year in some schools. Positive language attitude. Nearly all speak some Bayi, Golo, Sere, Balanda, Arabic, English, Dinka, Luwo, Gbaya, or Banda as second language
23,300 2000 WCD 25,349 0.35% Niger-Congo
A 97.48%
36 GBAYA Kresh, Kreish, Kreich, Kredj, Kparla, Kpala, Kpara.
Naka (Kresh-Boro), Gbaya-Ndogo (Kresh-Ndogo), Gbaya-Ngbongbo (Kresh-Hofra), Gbaya-Gboko, Orlo (Woro), Gbaya-Dara, Dongo. 8 tribes and dialects. Gbaya-Ndogo is prestigious and understood by all. Naka is largest and also well understood
About 4,000 others speak Gbaya as second language. Men and those who have been to school speak Sudanese Arabic as second language for most common topics. They do not accept Standard Arabic, except for a few who have been to school
16,000 1987 SIL 25,084 0.35% Central Sudani
c
A 97.83%
37 LULUBO (also called Olubo)
Luluba, Olubogo, Oluboti, Lulubo, Ondoe, Lolubo
There is strong interest in using Olu'bo for education. Many also use Bari
15,000 1985 SIL 24,875 0.35% Moru Ma'di
98.17%
109
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
38 THURI Dhe Thuri, Jo Thuri, Wada Thuri, Shatt.
Bodho (Dhe Boodho, Dembo, Demen, Dombo), Colo (Dhe Colo, Jur Shol, Jo Colo), Manangeer (Jur Manangeer).
16,700 2000 WCD 18,169 0.25% Nilotic 98.42%
39 FEROGE Ferroge, Feroghe, Kaligi, Kaliki, Kalige, Kalike.
Indri, Mangaya, and Togoyo are closely related languages
Many also use Sudanese Arabic
8,000 1982 SIL 14,434 0.20% Niger-Congo
98.62%
40 BELANDA BOR
De Bor Most speakers also use Belanda Viri. There is much intermarriage between the two groups
1983 SIL 14,034 0.19% Nilotic B 98.82%
41 BELI Behli, Beili, Jur Beli, 'Beli.
Wulu, Bahri Girinti, Sopi (Supi). Lexical similarity 46% with Jur Modo, 45% with Bongo, 41% with Mo'da and Morokodo, 39% with Baka
Using Jur Modo literacy materials
6,600 1982 SIL 11,908 0.17% Central Sudani
c
98.98%
42 KELIKO Kaliko. Eastern Keliko, Western Keliko 10,000 1998 SIL 11,509 0.16% Moru Ma'di
B 99.14%
43 BONGO Bungu, Dor Busere Bongo, Tonj Bongo, Bungo. Slight dialect differences between those on the River Busere, who have had Zande influence, and those around Tonj. Bungo dialect has minor differences. Close to the Jur Beli cluster
Bilingualism in Jur Beli is low. Generally, adults understand Zande, and adult males understand Dinka Rek. The youth do not understand Zande or Dinka because education is mostly in Arabic with some English. Many students drop out of school because they cannot understand the language being used
10,100 2000 WCD 10,988 0.15% Central Sudani
c
99.29%
44 KACIPO-BALESI
Kichepo, Suri, Western Suri. Related to Murle and Didinga. Pronoun differences between Balesi and Zilmamu. Lexical similarity 40% to 54% with Murle, 35% with Mursi
10,000 2003 10,000 0.14% Surmic 99.43%
110
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
45 MOROKODO
Biti, Ma'du, Morokodo.
A dialect cluster. Lexical similarity 63% with Jur Modo, 41% with Beli, 45% with Bongo, 43% with Baka
The Ma'du dialect may be extinct (1984). Many use Moru as second language
3,400 1977 Voegelin and
Voegelin
7,060 0.10% Central Sudani
c
99.53%
46 DONGOTONO
Lexical similarity 60% with Otuho 6,200 2000 WCD 6,745 0.09% Nilotic 99.62%
47 LONGARIM ( also called NARIM)
Larim, Larimo, Lariim, Nariim, Longarim, Lariminit.
Lexical similarity 74% with Murle, 83% with Didinga
3,600 1983 Fukui 6,315 0.09% Surmic 99.71%
48 BANDA, WEST CENTRAL
Golo Speakers are reported to be bilingual in Ndogo in Sudan. Most no longer speak Golo
3,000
1982 SIL 5,413 0.08% Niger-Congo
B 99.79%
49 TENNET Tenet. Some intelligibility of Murle, Narim, and Didinga (in descending order).
All ages. A strong sense of Tenet ethnic identity. Most Tennet are fluent in Lopit, from which they borrow most of their songs. Many over 20 years old know Toposa, which is used for ox names and a few songs. Many can also understand some Otuho, which is closely related to Lopit. Those with schooling know a little Arabic
4,000 1994 SIL 5,151 0.07% Surmic 99.86%
50 YULU Youlou. Binga, Yulu Many also use Kresh or Arabic
3,000 1987 SIL 4,703 0.07% Central Sudani
c
99.92%
111
Language Alternate names
Dialect information and lexical similarity Language use, bilingualism etc
Population of L1 speakers in Sudan
Date of estimate
Who data from
Population data extrapolated to 2003
% of total population using extrapolated date
Language family
Role
% Cumulative population
51 NYAMUSA-MOLO
Nyamusa, Molo. Lexical similarity 84% between Nyamusa and Molo, 70% to 75% with Jur Modo dialect cluster
1,200 1977 Voegelin and
Voegelin
2,492 0.03% Central Sudani
c
99.96%
52 GULA Kara, Kara of Sudan, Yamegi.
Gula (Goula), Nguru (Bubu, Koyo). Many in Sudan are reported to be bilingual in Kresh or Arabic
1,100 1987 SIL 1,724 0.02% Central Sudani
c
99.98%
53 MO'DA Gberi, Gweri, Gbara, Muda.
Lexical similarity 64% with Morokodo, 58% with Jur Modo, 41% with Beli, 49% with Bongo, 38% with Baka
600 1977 Voegelin and
Voegelin
1,246 0.02% Central Sudani
c
100.00%
7,209,219
112
Table 8 Sudanese language relationships
(Table was compiled by Andrew Persson, SIL-Sudan, revised April 2004. This table is mainly a simplified version of the relevant parts of The Ethnologue Language Family Index, 2000.)
KEY: bold = language of Sudan underlined = language of South Sudan
AFRO-ASIATIC FAMILY includes Semitic languages: Classical Arabic, Arabic colloquials and Tigre, Cushitic languages: Bedawi (or Beja), and Chadic: Hausa
NILO-SAHARAN FAMILY
1. Berta 2. Fur, Amdang, Mimi 3. Komuz languages: Gumuz, Uduk, Komo, Opuuo (or Shita), Kwama 4. Kunama 5. Maban languages: Maba, Marfa, Masalit, Kibet, Runga, Karanga 6. SAHARAN LANGUAGES: Zaghawa, Kanuri, Kanembu, Dazaga, Tedaga 7. Songai, Tadaksahak, Zarma etc. 8. Kadu languages A. Central: Kadugli-Katcha-Miri, Kanga, Tulishi B. Eastern: Krongo, Tumtum
C. Western: Keiga
9. EASTERN SUDANIC A. Eastern Group 1. Gaam (or Ingessana) 2. Nara 3. NUBIAN LANGUAGES a. Dongolawi-Kenuzi, Nobiin (or Mahas-Fiadidja), Midob
b. Hill Nubian languages: 1. Ghulfan, Kadaru 2. Dair, Dilling, El Hugeirat, Karko, Wali 4. SURMIC LANGUAGES a. Majang b. Southeast Surmic languages: Kwegu, Me'en, Suri, Mursi c. Southwest Surmic languages: 1. Murle, Tennet, Didinga, Narim (or Boya) 2. Kacipo-Balesi B. Western Group 1. Daju, Logorik, Shatt (or Caning) 2. Ama (or Nyimang), Afitti 3. Tese, Temein
4. Tama, Mararit, Assangori
113
C. NILOTIC LANGUAGES 1. Eastern Nilotic a. Bari, Kakwa, Mandari b. Lotuko-Maa languages: 1. Otuho, Dongotono, Lango (of Sudan), Lopit, Lokoya 2. Maasai, Ngasa, Samburu c. Teso, Karamojong, Toposa, Turkana, Nyangatom 2. Western Nilotic a. Dinka, Nuer, Reel (or Atuot) b. Lwoian languages: 1. Northern Lwoian: A. Mabaan, Burun, Jumjum B. Shilluk, Luwo, Thuri, Belanda Bor, Anuak, Päri (or Lokoro) 2. Southern Lwoian: A. Adhola, Kumam B. Acholi, Lango (of Uganda), Luo (of Kenya), Alur 3. Southern Nilotic a. Kalenjin languages: 1. Sabaot, Kupsabiny 2. Endo, Talai, Aramanik, Kalenjin, Kisankasa, Mediak, Mosiro, Tugen 3. Pokoot, Okiek b. Datooga, Omotik D. Kuliak Group: Ik, Soo 10. CENTRAL SUDANIC A. Eastern Group 1. Moru-Ma'di languages: a. Central Moru-Ma’di languages: Avokaya, Keliko, Logo, Omi, Aringa, Lugbara b. Northern Moru-Ma’di language: Moru c. Southern Moru-Ma’di languages: Ma’di, Olu’bo
2. Lendu, Ngiti, Bendi 3. Mangbetu, Asoa, Lombi 4. Mangbutu, Efe, Lese, Mamvu, Mvuba, Ndo B. Western Group 1. Bongo-Bagirmi languages: a. Bongo-Baka languages: 1. Bongo 2. Baka 3. Jur Modo, Beli, Nyamusa, Morokodo, Moda
b. Sara-Bagirmi languages: Bagirmi, Naba, Sara, Sar, Kaba, Laka, Mbai, Ngam, Ngambay etc. c. Furu, Gula, Yulu d. Sinyar 2. Gbaya (or Kresh)
114
NIGER-CONGO SUPER-FAMILY
1. Mande Family
2. KORDOFANIAN FAMILY A. Heiban Group 1. West-Central Heiban languages: a. Heiban, Laro, Otoro, Logol, Koalib b. Moro, Tira c. Shwai 2. Eastern Heiban languages: Ko, Warnang
B. Talodi Group 1. Talodi proper: a. Talodi b. Nding (or Eliri) c. Ngile (or Masakin), Dagik d. Acheron, Lumun, Tocho 2. Lafofa C. Katla, Tima D. Rashad Group: Tegali, Tagoi, Tingal
3. Atlantic-Congo Families A. Ijoid Family B. Atlantic Family (including Fulfulde) C. Volta-Congo Families 1. Kru Family 2. Kwa Family 3. Dogon 4. Benue-Congo Family 5. Northern Volta-Congo Families a. Gur Family b. ADAMAWA-UBANGI FAMILY 1. Adamawa languages 2. Ubangi languages: A. Banda group (including Banda) B. Gbaya group (including Gbaya of Cameroon/C.A.R.) C. Ngbandi group D. Sere-Ngbaka-Mba group 1. Ngbaka-Mba a. Mba languages b. Ngbaka languages: 1. Eastern Ngbaka languages: Mundu, Mayogo, Bangba 2. Western Ngbaka languages (including Baka of Cameroon) 2. Sere languages: a. Feroge b. Belanda Viri, Ndogo, Sere, Tagbu E. Zande, Nzakara, Barambu, Pambia
115
Table 9 Indigenous Communities listed in the Southern Constitution
(from GOSS 2005: 117-118)
1. Acholi 2. Aja 3. Anyuak 4. Atuot [Reel] 5. Avukaya 6. Azande 7. Bai 8. Baka 9. Balanda-Boor 10. Balanda-Bviri 11. Banda 12. Bari 13. Binga 14. Bongo 15. Boya [Larim] 16. Didinga 17. Dinka [Jeng] 18. Dongotona 19. Feroghe 20. Gollo 21. Ifoto 22. Imatong 23. Indri 24. Jiye 25. Jurbiel [beli] 26. Jurchol [Luo] 27. Man-angeer 28. Kakwa 29. Kara 30. Keliku 31. Kuku 32. Lango 33. Lotuka [Otuho] 34. Logir 35. Lokoya 36. Lulubo 37. Lopit 38. Lugbara 39. Maban 40. Madi 41. Makaraka
42. Mangayat 43. Moru 44. Mundari 45. Mundu 46. Murle 47. Ndogo 48. Ngulngule (Jungur Gulle) 49. Nuer [Naath] 50. Nyangatom 51. Nyangwara 52. Pari 53. Pojullo 54. Sere 55. Shatt 56. Shilluk [chollo] 57. Suri [kachipo] 58. Tenet 59. Tid 60. Toposa 61. Uduk 62. Woro 63. Yulu
116
Annex 7 Information Relating to Book Publishing in Southern
Sudanese Languages
Information on New Day Publishers
(from Kayanga personal communication, email 15th July 2006) Address:
New Day Publishers, P.O. Box 6426, Khartoum, Sudan Aims and Objectives:
1. To publish Christian Literature books for the Christians in Sudan. We also do encourage Sudanese new writers to write about what God is doing amongst them and their communities.
2. To reproduce Hymn and Prayer books plus other Christian Literature books in indigenous Sudanese languages and also some in English and Arabic for Schools.
3. To print the books in Khartoum where it is bit cheaper as compared to Nairobi or Kampala, and distribution of the books to the Christians is not expensive.
4. To write appropriate Christian literature books in indigenous Sudanese languages for easy understanding.
5. To develop and produce training and reading materials for Church Leaders and Youth. 6. To encourage Sudanese Christian writers to write:
a. Educative Christian Literature books based on African traditions and cultures. b. Educative African Folk Tales.
List of books published and printed in Sudanese Indigenous languages from 1997 to 2005
1. Bari Hymn and Prayer books 2. Zande Hymn and Prayer books 3. Zande Mothers Union Prayer books 4. Keriat ti Kuku (Primer in Kuku
language) 5. Love and marriage in Moru language 6. Folk Tales in Bari language 7. Hymn Books in Nuba Moro
language 8. Pastors hand Book in Nuba Moto
language 9. Catechism books in Nuba Moro
language 10. Hymn books in Baka language 11. Hymn books in Morokodo language 12. Hymn and Prayer books in Dinka
language 13. 39 Articles of Religion in Moru
language 14. Kito Lusi ro Luka be (Moru Primer) 15. Thm De Nom (Riddles in Dinka) 16. Addam Yx Kabul (The book of
creation in Nuba Tira)
17. Hymn and Prayer Books in Olu’ba language
18. Life of Jesus in Moru language 19. TEE Abundant Life in Moru
language 20. Catechism books in Nuba Korongo
language 21. Catechism books in Nuba Otor
language 22. Catechism books in Nuba Heiban
language 23. Catechism books in Nuba Koulib
language 24. Hymn books in Nuba Korongo
language 25. Animal stories in Bongo language 26. Animal stories in Gbaya language 27. Animal stories in Laro language 28. Animal stories in Jumjum language 29. Animal stories in Dinka Rek
language 30. Animal stories in Dinka Jiee
language 31. Aporo (Christian) in Zande language
117
32. Kubaya (stories) in Zande language 33. Aids Awareness in Zande language 34. Aids Awareness in Dinka language 35. Aids Awareness in Nuer language 36. Aids Awareness in Moru language 37. Aids Awareness in Bari language 38. TEE introduction to the Bible in
Nuba Tira language 39. The Gospel of St. Luke in Nuba Tira
language 40. The Gospel of St. Mark in Zande
language 41. Catechism in Zande language.
118
Information on Bibles published in Southern Sudanese languages
(from Andrew Persson, personal communications, email 18th July 2006)
Language Name Type of Bible Publishing Information
Acholi Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Uganda, 1986
Bari Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1979
Kakwa Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Uganda, 1983
Moru Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 2000
Nuer Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1999
Zande Complete Bible Published by Bible Society of Zaire, 1978
Otoro New Testament Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1966
Anuak New Testament Published by Bible Society of Ethiopia, 1962
Avokaya New Testament Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT), 2002
Dinka-Padang New Testament Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1952
Dinka-Bor New Testament Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1940
Dinka-Rek New Testament Published by WBT, 2005.
Jur Modo New Testament Published by WBT, 1998.
Luwo New Testament Published by Diocese of Wau (Roman Catholic. Church), 2003
Mabaan New Testament Latest publication by SIM (?) 2002
Madi New Testament Published by Bible Society of Uganda, 1977
Mundu New Testament Published by WBT, 2005.
Murle New Testament Published by International Bible Society, 1996.
Ndogo New Testament Published by WBT, 2001.
Otuho (Lotuko) New Testament Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1969
Päri New Testament Published by Diocese of Torit (Roman Catholic. Church ).
Shilluk New Testament Published by Bible Society of Sudan, 1977
119
Annex 8 Departments under the MOEST
(from SOE and SBEP 2005)
Dep
artmen
ts
Planning
Department
Administra
-tion and
Finance
Department
Quality
Promotion and
Innovation
Department
Gender and
Social
Change
Department
General
Education
Department
Higher
Education
Departme
nt
Responsibilities
Education Planning and Monitoring
� Data and Statistics
� Policy Analysis
and Support Physical Planning
Development Partners
Efficiency, Quality, and Financial Compliance Audit Financial Management General and Personnel Administration Procurement and Distribution
Standards Human Resource Development
� Distance Education
� Teacher Education
� Management and Development Training
� Scholarships Curriculum
� Development
� Assessment
� Layout and Production
National Languages Examinations Research
Gender Equality Life Skills
� HIV/AIDS � Environment
� Landmine Awareness
� Nutrition Civic and Peace Education Special Needs
Early Childhood Development Primary Education Secondary Education Alternative Education Other Schools
Vocational, Technical, Science, and Business Education Tertiary Institutions