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WENDY MOTHATA
SEVENTEEN Grade 12 pupils from Mpumalanga have made history after writing their first South African Sign Language (SASL) exams last Thursday.
The group is the first cohort from the province to write the sign language exam in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga.
The Department of Education in Mpumalanga said that this was a historic record-breaking feat.
“In a historic and record-breaking feat, 17 deaf learners from Bukhosibetfu Full-Service School in Driekopies, Nkomazi Local Municipality, wrote the SASL Home Language P1 on November 10, 2022,” said the Department.
The Department said that this is the first cohort of deaf learners from the province to write the National Senior Certificate Examination, and so far the department is satisfied with how the examination progressed.
“The SASL was recognised by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) as an official home language in 2014. Sign language was included as a subject for the first time in the 2018 National Senior Certificate exams, in what was described as a major victory for the Deaf community.”
In the Sign Language final examination, learners work in partitioned spaces (cubicles) with computers loaded with the question papers and video-record themselves signing the answers.
The videos are then saved and sent to the public examinations directorate for further handling and submission to the DBE for centralised marking.
The cubicles are designed mainly to prevent unnecessary distractions and clear the recording from capturing other activities except the learners’ responses to the questions.
South African Sign Language is a visual-spatial language with its own distinct linguistic structure that includes syntax, morphology, phonology, and language conventions.
It is not based on any spoken or written language; however, it is a language in its own right.
In keeping with the targets of the Employment Equity Plan, the Mpumalanga Department of Education said it will only prioritise grade 12 learners with disabilities in the 2023 bursary awards.
The Department further urged the learners not to let their guards down but to exert themselves vigorously in their studies until the end of the examination period.
INSIDE EDUCATION