Photo: Dr Boitumelo Moreeng, Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at the University of the Free State’s Faculty of Education; Prof. Wendy Setlalentoa, CUT’s Dean of Humanities and Dr Khotso Nkhatho at the 2^nd annual lecture.

The Faculty of Humanities hosted the 2^nd annual Khotso Nkhatho Public Lecture to explore education's role in transforming society, focusing on curriculum studies and education history.

Dean of the faculty, Prof. Wendy Setlalentoa, said that this lecture is an annual event aimed at celebrating Dr Khotso Nkhatho’s immense contribution to the conservation and development of Sesotho at the time when indigenous languages were not recognised as media of instruction in a multilingual South African society.

CUT awarded Dr Nkatho an honorary PhD in Communication and Language Practice for his critical role in the radio and television industry over the years and the use of Sesotho in this art form of entertainment.

This year’s guest speaker is Dr Boitumelo Moreeng, a seasoned teacher and Head of Department at the University of the Free State Faculty of Education. Focusing on curriculum studies and history education, delved into the topic: “A critical reflection on the role of education in a transforming society: A case of South Africa.”

“I am using the word transforming in its broader sense to include the social, political, technological, economic, psychological, and other forms of changes that a country can envisage. Globally and nationally, some signposts have also been erected to guide this transformation – at the level of the UN, they talk about SDGs, and within our SA context, we speak about the NDP 2030,” said Dr Moreeng.

“First, I would like to comment on the issue of performance in languages. This annual lecture is very important and relevant, even more so this time. We are having this lecture just months after the release of the PIRLs (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) report that told us that South Africa came last in 57 countries in the reading for a meaning test.

This has been the trend in the country because in 2021, illiteracy levels rose from 78 to 81%, and COVID was blamed for the increase. This is very interesting as Dr Nkhatho’s life and work have been around language and language use issues. As an actor, author, and broadcaster, Dr Nkhatho has been outstanding in encouraging and motivating many of us to be teachers of language, literature, drama and acting. Through his work, he contributed to using and preserving the Sesotho language.”

Dr Moreeng added that we are told that learners cannot read and write in an era when they have more access to reading resources despite spending 18 hours a day on their phones reading text, writing and sending messages. Asking the question: How should we deal with language and language teaching as we respond to this societal transformation issue?

“What is our role then in higher education institutions – the quality of our programmes and graduates? Responding to current and future challenges, universities for the present and future must be responsive to societal challenges. In my field of education, we keep producing teachers, but we keep getting reports about a myriad of education issues and problems. As academics, we keep doing research to get personal ratings and recognition, but the system does not show improvement in quality of education,” he concluded.